UPDATE: Figured more stuff would come out on this. Heath VonEye left the city of Madison, SD in 2011 after only 2.5 years as planning director;
VonEye said he “will seek other avenues to achieve his personal and professional goals” in explaining his resignation as Madison’s first public works director. He told the commissioners that his decision was determined by “circumstances beyond his control.”
It may be the oldest story in the book, misuse of public funds(?), fall back on Jesus, quit without punishment and move on to another town. I also heard from a Watertown official that Mack and VonEye had a policy of NOT sharing information with the council so they would vote for stuff they wanted passed. (must of learned that from Poops, he is consistently withholding info from our council.)
Harrisburg better do some serious soul searching.
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So the new city manager just starts and she is already causing issues with her new Deputy;
According to KXLG News, Harrisburg City Administrator Amanda Mack confirmed that the city has offered Heath VonEye a position as Deputy City Administrator. VonEye is currently Watertown’s Assistant City Manager and Public Works Director.
VonEye accepted the offer, but there is no start date as VonEye still needs to complete the resignation with the City of Watertown.
The new position comes with an annual salary of $195,000.
Amanda Mack was the previous City Manager of Watertown and resigned, which the Watertown City Council made effective on November 25. VonEye chose not to accept the Interim City Manager position and the city’s Chief Financial Officer, Kristen Bobzien, holds the title.Watertown Mayor Ried Holien told KXLG News that the city was unaware VonEye was seeking employment elsewhere. The mayor also has a succession committee that will assist with selecting a new Watertown City Manager.
Word from residents in Harrisburg is that Mack and VonEye were BOTH hired without properly posting the jobs online, in a legal paper or the Municipal League website, still digging around on that. As for the executive session to let Mack go early which was a clear violation of open meeting laws, there may be a reason they didn’t want the ‘dirty laundry’ of city staff on full display and were willing to take the hit to cover it up. Let’s just say the rumors I have heard would not only disqualify BOTH candidates to work for the city of Watertown but also for Harrisburg. Then there is the nepotism. I certainly don’t know the reason why she was fired early, but if the rumors are true they will eventually be revealed and Harrisburg is going to have a lot of mud on their face when it is all over. Watertown is beyond help.