'Critical need for transparency': Eight former Saugatuck mayors pen letter over Heise payout

SAUGATUCK — Eight former mayors of Saugatuck have penned a letter about the city's recent handling of the resignation of Ryan Heise.

“As eight former Saugatuck mayors, we share a few things: We all loved, and continue to love, Saugatuck.

"We all understand well the challenges and difficulties of city leadership. And we all believe deeply in the critical need for transparency in our local government.

"In this spirit, we urge the current Saugatuck city leadership to release to the public all information not explicitly protected by state or federal law related to the recent departure of the Saugatuck city manager, the considerations surrounding that action, the seemingly excessive severance payment and the overly favorable public announcement of his departure.

"Once provided with the facts to which they are entitled, we're confident the citizens of Saugatuck can weigh the matter responsibly and reach their own conclusions.”

The letter was signed by Peg Sanford, Dave Mocini, Rich Crawford, Catherine Simon, Jane Verplank, Bill Hess, Chris Peterson and Ken Trester.

But former mayor Garnet Lewis and current mayor Lauren Stanton seem to disagree with the insinuation council has been anything but transparent.

In an email to The Sentinel, Lewis claims "several (other) former mayors" disagree with the letter, though she didn't say who. When asked if she'd like to elaborate, Lewis said: "No, because I am not an attention whore and see no need to comment on a private city matter."

Stanton addressed the specifics of the letter in her own email, along with some allegations:

“In response to concerns and comments from the public and some prior mayors of Saugatuck, this city knows all too well the costs of leadership change, as well as the risks created by approving agreements without legal representation.

“In 2020, Saugatuck residents were surprised to see the approved pay out of more than $75,000 to another former city manager during a voluntary resignation. This enormous cost occurred during the period many of the former mayors who authored the letter to the editor served on the council.

"At the time, they defended their action as a legal necessity given the terms of the former manager's contract. Prior approval of agreements without proper legal involvement has also created its own risks for the city and its residents. Those contractual obligations and legal considerations are not unlike those recently faced by the current city council.”

Stanton is referring to the resignation of Kirk Harrier, who served the city for close to 15 years. The Sentinel reported on the resignation at the time, and has filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the city for confirmation of the alleged payout.

In the remainder of her statement, Stanton focused on current events.

“A year ago, council unanimously renewed our most recent city manager's employment contract and increased his six months of severance pay, previously approved by some of these former councilmembers in 2020. This contract renewal included an extra month of pay for every year served, bringing the most recent manager's severance pay to nine months if the contract was terminated for any reason other than malfeasance.

“The current council approved those terms in the renewed 2020 contract because jobs like city manager can be subject to the partisan political agendas of elected officials, which we've witnessed in other municipalities. City managers in other cities in the area have 10- and 12-month severance written into their contracts to provide them some security and time to locate new employment given the highly partisan nature of even local politics in today's world.

“With respect to our former city manager, I, as mayor, and council were supported by the city’s employment attorney when a manager is leaving a key role at the city. Council had obligations to the city residents to be fully-informed of their legal obligations.

"I brought the legal analysis to the council in closed session per the rules of the Open Meetings Act. In open session, the unanimous vote of the six council members present instructed legal counsel to negotiate the voluntary separation agreement consistent with legal council’s recommendation and to authorize the execution of the same. The result was consistent with the council's practice just four years ago.

“I remain confident that the council's unanimous decision was in the best legal and financial interests of Saugatuck taxpayers. Some can second guess decisions that were made unanimously by a council that was elected by the people to make tough decisions like this, or we can move forward as this council looks to hire the next leader of our city government and complete the goals we have for this upcoming year, a year full of promise and optimism for our city’s future.”

When asked why the planned closed session and subsequent vote weren't included on the provided agenda, why the vote didn't take place during a regular council meeting, why neither Heise's name nor his position were spoken, and why a subsequent press release failed to mention the payout Heise would receive in exchange for his resignation, Stanton pointed to legal counsel.

"The item was added to the agenda as an agenda change at the top of the meeting," she wrote. "We weren't able to add it in time for when the packet went out. As far as anything more than that, I was going by the advice of our employment attorney."

Heise disappeared from City Hall in early February, when Interim City Manager Ryan Cummins was tapped for the role during a special meeting. At the time, no reason for the change was given.

Three weeks later, the city announced Heise's resignation in a release to media, highlighting his accomplishments during his tenure and noting his "well known" interest in relocating.

On March 7, The Sentinel reported Heise agreed to resign in exchange for nearly $100,000.

That's according to a resignation agreement obtained by The Sentinel through a Freedom of Information Act request.

According to the agreement signed by City Clerk Jamie Wolters on March 4, Saugatuck paid Heise a lump sum of 10.25 months of his annual salary, or $98,650, in exchange for his resignation, a marked increase from his original employment agreement, if he was fired without cause.

Heise will receive 144 hours of pay for unused vacation time, and will keep insurance benefits through Dec. 30.

Under his original contract, Heise was required to give a month's notice before resigning. Under the new agreement, that was waived. Heise also agreed not to re-apply for employment with the city unless asked to do so in writing, and the city agreed not to provide more than his dates of employment and job title to prospective employers unless Heise signs a written request.

The vote to approve the resignation agreement came during the final minutes of a lengthy workshop on Feb. 21, following a closed session. Three hours earlier, Stanton told attendees — most of whom were there to speak on short-term rentals — there'd be no decisions made that night.

In the weeks since, at least one councilmember has said he would've voted differently if he'd had all the information, according to a letter intended for publication in The Commercial Record and obtained by The Sentinel.

In his letter, Gardner came closest to saying why the city offered Heise money to resign at all, saying he believed it was time "for the city and the now-former city manager to part ways, as I was made aware of and personally observed behavior that was not helpful to the city and its employees."

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“Since being elected, I have publicly and privately commented to (council) and its leadership concerns about the former city manager,” Gardner wrote. “No known action was taken. Therefore, I found this (the resignation agreement) the most viable of the options presented.”

Some residents have displayed signs in their yard reading: "Please write us a check for $98,650 and we'll leave town, too."

Though the release announcing his resignation cited a known interest in job opportunities in Minnesota, Stanton said officials didn't realize he'd already applied for at least one position before signing his resignation agreement. Earlier this month, The Pioneer Press reported Heise is one of five candidates in the running for a city administrator position in Hudson, Wisconsin — which is located near the border.

— Contact reporter Austin Metz at ametz@hollandsentinel.com.