Sandpoint council does away with city administrator position

By Zach Hagadone
Reader Staff

Sandpoint has ended its eight-year stint with a city administrator form of government, as City Council members voted 5-1 on July 17 to eliminate the position.

Mayor Jeremy Grimm fronted the ordinance removing the job from the city’s organizational chart, and championed a return to a City Hall managed by department heads — including the addition of directors of Planning and Community Development, Public Works and Central Services. Those positions — all confirmed by the council on July 17 — would join other appointed functions such as treasurer, fire and police chiefs, and the city attorney, the latter serving under a contract appointment. 

Getting rid of the city administrator function was one of Grimm’s primary campaign planks during his run for mayor in 2023, which resulted in the resignation of City Administrator Jennifer Stapleton following his victory at the polls and swearing in at the beginning of January. Stapleton had served as the city administrator since 2016. The position was created by a vote of the council in 2015.

“True to my campaign objectives, we have either put in place or are about to hire the seven department heads who will run the city with direct reporting to the council and myself,” Grimm said on July 17. “By making these positions appointed … it in my opinion gives the ability for these positions to speak truth to power without the fear that the mayor’s going to fire them. I think it’s super important that the department heads can speak freely and without that fear of conflict with their ‘boss.’”

Officials who hold appointed positions with the city cannot be fired without the consent of the council. Jason Welker is Planning and Community Development director and Cheryl Hughes serves as director of Central Services. City Hall is still recruiting to fill the Public Works director job. 

Council President Deb Ruehle objected to the move — and made the lone dissenting vote — saying that she would rather retain the position but neither fill nor budget for it.

“I feel you as the mayor need to prove that the [department head] system is going to work first, and so I want us to have a backup plan because it’s most important to me that we take care of the taxpayers of the city,” she said, adding later that Sandpoint has experienced dramatic growth since the last time it operated on a department head-led structure, and a city administrator may be necessary to provide full-time leadership over the complexities facing City Hall.

Ruehle said she would also favor redefining the powers and responsibilities of the city administrator role, “because I do think that there was an imbalance of power that occurred.” She worried that a future mayor may not be as engaged with day-to-day operations as Grimm has been, thus leaving too many aspects of city management to department heads and potentially opening the way for inefficiencies and unethical hiring and firing practices.

Councilor Justin Dick also raised concerns with the proposed ordinance. 

“I do worry that we may not get a mayor with the same sort of work ethic that you’ve put in so far. … I think siloing of the departments is a real thing, especially when you’re moving back to part-time hours and I think that puts you in a position where you’re reactive, and you’re finding out after issues and problems have already happened,” he said.

“If we did want to bring back a city administrator, I think they provide sustainable leadership and continuity for the staff,” Dick added. “I do worry that we may get a department head that doesn’t gel with the rest of the group or may bulldoze or railroad their way through into getting what they want.”

Dick ultimately voted in favor of the ordinance, along with Councilors Joel Aispuro, Pam Duquette, Rick Howarth and Kyle Schreiber.

“You ran on a platform of reforming the way that this city ran,” Howarth said, later adding that “before joining this council, I can tell you there were numerous people in my circle of influence that were very disappointed in the prior structure, and therefore voted for you and your platform.”

The only public testimony came from Planning and Zoning Commissioner Amelia Boyd, who mounted an unsuccessful bid for City Council in 2023 and aligned herself as an ally and friend of former-Administrator Stapleton. She said that Grimm’s victory at the polls was the result of “a popularity contest — that’s how all these elections go,” and added that he is an “unqualified individual who doesn’t have the experience and wherewithal to actually run an entire organization with multiple moving pieces.”

“The mayor’s previous experience as a city planner has given him a glance of what it takes, but certainly doesn’t qualify him for what a city administrator or a city manager does,” she said, referring to Grimm’s previous eight years as Sandpoint city planner.

“I have already witnessed employees — five to date — who have left in just under six months of figuring things out without a city administrator,” Boyd said. “I stand in front of you to tell you that more are going to leave and that is a guarantee. Why? Because your city administrator knew how to do her job during her tenure. … 

“If those of you on the dais think otherwise, then you are living in a fairytale,” she added.

Grimm underscored his support for the department head organizational format, applauding its  “transparency, the interface, the questions, the direct access, the unfettered comments, the lack of an [unelected] individual having the narrative over the city.” 

“I’m pretty adamant that department heads function for our city the best,” he said. “I don’t subscribe to the belief that there was siloing. I was here for eight years, and I saw a lot of collaboration. … It engages the council, it requires the council to do work and ask questions, and frankly, for the history of Sandpoint since 1901, we’ve functioned as a department head city except for all but a few years, and I think the proof is in the pudding.”