The ongoing saga in Avondale Estates between City Manager Clai Brown and the board of mayor and commissioners took an unexpected turn Tuesday afternoon. The city has decided not to renew Brown’s contract, which expired Sunday.
In a special called meeting set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, the board will formally outline a separation agreement with Brown. The posted agenda also includes naming an interim replacement and a consulting arrangement with Brown to help find a permanent replacement.
City Attorney Stephen Quinn told the AJC Tuesday that neither he nor any of the parties involved could give additional details since Brown hasn’t signed the agreement.
Brown had resigned as city manager on Dec. 6 with no explanation, amid tension between him and the board. What brought the friction to a head was commissioners rejecting the budget proposal of Brown and his finance director and crafting one of their own. Brown said the board’s revenue projections were optimistic at best and the expenditures were far from conservative.
Brown then rescinded his resignation on Jan. 11 — again giving no explanation.
In the weeks since, the commission has held a number of meetings that were not open to the public. Brown has insisted he was as much in the dark as anyone about the board’s direction but that he could work efficiently with the board and Mayor Jonathan Elmore.
Brown, who celebrated his 10th anniversary as city manager Sunday, has been a popular figure, much like his late father before him, Dewey Brown, who was city manager for 46 years.
Tensions between Brown and certain board members over the past year have been observed by several regular attendees of city meetings, including former Commissioner Michael Payne.
“My speculation is that some commissioners are getting involved in day-to-day activities, which are the responsibilities of the staff and city manager,” Payne said recently. “There’s a distain, a lack of professionalism among some commissioners. I don’t think there’s an appreciation for the charter or rules.”
A severance agreement added to Brown’s contract in February 2015 would have paid him his full annual salary plus bonuses and accrued vacation and sick leave if he resigns or is fired without cause. For 2018 that comes to $317,408.17 or about 9 percent of the city’s anticipated 2018 expenditures.
Elmore, who was elected mayor in March 2015, said he’d never even heard of that agreement until December.
In January the commission proffered a resolution saying it would not honor the severance package, but wound up tabling the vote.
Quinn said Tuesday that severance will be addressed in the separation arrangement, but offered no other details.
The commission appears poised to name an interim city manager Wednesday, so it’s likely that person will come from within staff. Elmore was prepared to name an interim manager on Jan. 11, just hours before Brown announced he wasn’t leaving.
Two names have surfaced: Financial Director Ken Turner and Public Works Supervisor Bryan Armstead who, after several years’ absence, returned to the city last month. But neither has been confirmed.
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