COOK- City Administrator Theresa Martinson offered her resignation during a Nov. 3 performance review with the Cook City Council, and her final day on the job came last Friday. Mayor Dan Manick told the Timberjay on Tuesday that the decision was mutual and orderly, despite a handful of false rumors that followed her departure.
Martinson’s resignation came during a meeting that had originally been scheduled as a closed performance evaluation. Shortly before it began, she exercised her right under state law to have it held in open session. The council proceeded with the review, and partway through the discussion Martinson chose to offer her resignation.
“It is mutually agreed upon by both parties to go a different direction,” Manick said. “It needed to be done, but yet nobody’s celebrating.”
According to Manick, the roots of the decision went back months. He said he and councilor Liza Root met with Martinson in April, about four months into his term, to address several performance issues that had surfaced. Manick said he brought “eight or ten items” to her attention at that meeting.
During the April discussion, Manick said he outlined specific areas where he believed procedures were not being met and where greater attention was needed. The goal, he said, was to be clear and fair about expectations, and to let Martinson know that some issues could not continue and that he was looking for stronger performance moving forward. It was intended as an early, honest signal that improvement was necessary, Manick said.
The council later used the city’s standard employee evaluation form to conduct a more comprehensive review. Members submitted written comments for each rating. Manick said he and councilor Jesse Scofield met with Martinson over the summer to go through the evaluations and discuss a possible 90-day corrective action plan.
By the time the Nov. 3 meeting arrived, the mayor said the council was prepared to talk about whether the city needed to go in another direction. Manick read from the same April list to help start the discussion. Other councilors added their own concerns.
“We didn’t get too far into it and then she asked, ‘You mind if I interrupt’ and then she offered the opportunity to resign,” Manick said.
Manick stressed that the decision was mutual and professional. He pushed back strongly on rumors circulating around town that suggested otherwise.
“She wasn’t fired,” he said. “I’ve heard so many horrible rumors out there that she was embezzling funds and things. Good God, there was nothing like that at all.”
Another rumor claimed that Martinson had been escorted out of City Hall.
“That’s completely false,” Manick said.
He said the two met peacefully the night before the Nov. 3 performance review to discuss the upcoming meeting and possible outcomes. When they finished, he said, he stepped out one door and Martinson returned to her office to gather a few personal items. “It was an amicable parting,” he said.
Manick repeatedly emphasized his respect for Martinson’s service to the city.
“She served the city well for many, many years, 30 years,” he said. “She has every right to hold her head high.”
He said her professionalism stood out in her final days with the city.
“I cannot believe the level of professionalism in a little bit of an awkward situation,” he said. “Really impressed with how she handled this.”
Part of the difficulty, he suggested, stemmed from the shift in expectations under his leadership and the new city council. Manick succeeded former mayor Harold “Doc” Johnston, a widely liked figure in the community, but he said voters made clear they wanted a change in direction.
“The people didn’t vote for Dan Manick just because they wanted a new mayor,” he said. “I believe people were voting for a change.”
Manick describes himself as operating with a very different approach than his predecessor.
“I’m about a 180 degree difference than Doc was as a mayor,” he said.
He said the city is behind on many fronts and needs a faster and more structured pace of work.
“We need to do this, and we need to do it now,” he said. “I believe this city, where we are right now, we will be in catch up mode on stuff.”
He acknowledged that such an environment may have been difficult for Martinson after three decades under a different style.
“If she would have had a new mayor come in that was maybe only 90 degrees off course… it probably would have been okay,” he said. “But part of her misfortune is she got me.”
He said the council shares that more hands-on, energetic approach. And with Martinson’s departure, they may be even more hands-on for awhile. “Our council is working so hard,” he said. “We’re probably going to have to pick up some of the slack ourselves.”
With Martinson’s departure, the council is sorting out the interim steps needed to maintain operations, including who will handle statutory signatures. Manick said Martinson was helpful in identifying options before she left, and those interim steps were scheduled to be discussed at Thursday’s regular council meeting.
As the city works through the transition, Manick said he hopes residents will focus on the direction Cook is heading rather than rumors about how the change occurred.
“We’re just trying to make sure that we set the record as straight as we can,” he said.
He believes the next administrator will step into a city that is rebuilding momentum and raising expectations.
“We will be surrounding this new administrator with great help,” he said. “They’re going to walk into a great situation.”