A copy of the draft contract agreement between the City of Watonga and City Manager Karrie Little it was leaked to the public and this newspaper simultaneously last week.
Near the same time, a press release from council member Neal Riley was disseminated.
That release stated Riley believed he was deliberately excluded from notification of a special meeting to discuss and vote on the contract. Riley has been at odds with Little and most of the rest of the council since he was sworn in after the April election. The press release further indicates that once he was aware of the meeting and began asking questions about not being notified, the meeting was promptly cancelled and rescheduled.
The city did comply with the Oklahoma Open Meetings Act by posting the agenda of the special meeting on the doors of City Hall inside the 48hour notification window.
However, an attorney for the Oklahoma Press Association noted that while the failure to notify all council members didn’t violate the law, it was still a big problem.
Since the draft of the contract has been made public – a draft is an outline that is subject to revision and modifications until adopted – social media has been lambasting the council and the city manager.
In fact finding, a series of questions were posed to the council members via email, with some additional questions put to the mayor, Ryan Bruner, and the vice mayor Debbie McGee, who made up the contract committee.
Bruner has served on the city council intermittently for close to 20 years. McGee is the former city clerk and worked with Little during their years in corrections.
The draft has a one-year term – July 2025 to June 2026 – and suggests a base salary of $102,800. It also includes a benefits package and auto expense reimbursement for local travel at $600 per month. Travel outside the city will be reimbursed on actual mileage and expenses incurred.
When the council formed the contract committee, Bruner asked the other councilors to send their suggestions for the contract to him for consideration.
Riley sent two items – asking Little take courses to gain certificates in city management and address outstanding state tax issues. Neither suggestion was included in the draft contract.
The Watonga Republican asked council members if they were willing to consider a different city manager, whether they were aware an applicant search did not have to go through the Oklahoma Municipal League, if there was a written job description for a city manager, was a written job description for a city manager, why Riley’s suggestions were left off the draft contract, and if they knew why there were stringent restrictions on placing items on the agenda.
The questions were emailed and a follow-up call was given to each council member alerting them to the email.
Riley, for his part, said he would be willing to consider another qualified candidate for city manager; he has suggested a different search method; he has asked multiple times about the agenda placements and the only job description he has seen is from the state statute that describes the city manager form of government.
Vice mayor Debbie McGee said she was unable to comment on the questions. Howard Hursh said he would be more comfortable answering the questions after the city council meeting.
Ryan Bruner did not reply, citing a heavy workload at Roman Nose State Park.
Council member Roy Hampton said he hated what happened with Riley not being notified of the meeting.
“It’s bad for one guy to be left out. I told them I wouldn’t be going (to the special meeting) because I don’t like what is going on.”
Hampton was also confused as to why he was told the city could not afford more lighting for Legion Park, which is in his ward, yet the draft contract includes a raise for the city manager.
“As far as saying we don’t have a budget for this or for that, and you want a raise? No.” he said. “I’d like to revisit why we need a manager.”
The city managercouncil form of government was voted on by residents of the city and the change was made to comply with that vote. A manager, part-time manager or part-time city planner is part of the equation.
Hampton, for his part, is ready to accept he doesn’t know everything about city government and how it all works.
“I’m still learning, but I don’t like what I’m seeing,” he said. One of his neighbors suggested he resign from the council to eliminate the turmoil in his life.
“No,” Hampton said. “We’re not going to do that. We’re going to pray.”