The mayor’s ill-advised, off-balance sheet agenda to hire a city administrator came to closure at the March 25, 2025 city council meeting. Many constituents continued to express frustration and displeasure with the mayor and council, who continue to shoot themselves in the foot…again.
Constituents offered the mayor and his court a realistic lifeline to correct the sins of the past, only to fall on deaf ears.
Ultimately, in “executive session,” the mayor’s ill-advised epiphany prevailed 5 to 4. Extinguishing the three (3) finalists, who abided by all the rules, in favor of an employee, who did not follow any of the rules, and many say was never declared an “official candidate” by council.
Obviously, the mayor and council never read “The Peter Principle” by Laurence Peter and Raymond Hull. But hey, we are on IOP, “we can do whatever we want.”
Below, I strongly encourage you to view the comments by the council regarding the vote. Please make up your own mind. Must-see TV!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vDd49T2kdo8
The following is an open letter to the three finalists:
I sincerely want to apologize to you regarding the recent IOP train wreck, in which you were a casualty. You were given false hope and a lack of transparency by this city regarding the selection of a city administrator.
Starting the interview process, you had to be thinking, IOP...definitive ground rules..." professional recruiting firm… what could possibly go wrong?
Finalists: I have walked ten (10) miles in your shoes… I know how your feet feel.
I am sure you felt betrayed…because you were. Your presentations were professional, only to be carelessly wallpapered over with a one-page document affectionately titled "Foregone Conclusion.
No… you did nothing wrong!
Do not second-guess yourself. This is a classic case of learning the hard way; finding it is difficult to trust people you thought you could trust… till you cannot.
Clearly, your potential employer was afraid of your medicine. They feared their inability to micromanage you, but they knew someone they could... piss backwards... at your expense.
I was told by a reliable source, ”Communities like ours do this all the time; we can do anything we want to.”
In other words, let’s lower ourselves to someone else’s level.
It is unfortunate; our mayor and council elevated your expectations, wasting your time. They continuously defied constituents’ resounding pleas to acknowledge their mistake and do the right thing!
Some council members may say, You were never promised or guaranteed anything. The defined process was warranted by the City of IOP. Is our word no longer our bond?
In retrospect, the mayor and council did you a favor. Zebras do not change their stripes. The paymaster’s currency is tainted… drastically devalued.
If IOP reaches out to you again…based on my experiences…run the other way as fast as you can. I can assure you, it will not work out!
In closing, the great American author, sportswriter, and commentator Heywood Hale “Woodie” Broun said it best: “Sports do not develop character; they reveal it.”
A mile wide…and an inch deep…is never sustainable...not even on IOP. We, the constituents of IOP, wish you the very best!
Sincerely,
Al Clouse
