Mayor Pro Tem Vote, Davenport House Matter Show Division Remains on the Saline City Council

Not all wounds have healed on Saline City Council, dogged by division since the city manager hiring process last year.

Fresh evidence of the wounds was seen at Monday's meeting with Mayor Brian Marl nominating Councillor Nicole Rice for Mayor Pro Tem and Councillor Jenn Harmount as Presiding Officer.

The Mayor Pro Tem runs the meetings in the absence of the Mayor. The Presiding Officer swings the gavel when both are absent.

Monday's kerfuffle started innocently enough, with Councillor Janet Dillon making a motion to acknowledge rather than approve Marl's request. Dillon's issue was with the Presiding Officer position. 

"Have we ever received the legal opinion as to whether we have the authority to create that position, and that position would have authority?" Dillon asked.

Marl said he believes the council has that authority, but said it was a question for legal counsel.

The Presiding Officer position was established by the City Council in 2019.

Dillon said the position was created because the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem were traveling to Germany and Council wanted someone to run the meetings.

"We continued on with that practice, but I don't recall that we ever actually received clarification that we had the ability to do that," Dillon said.

She noted that the City Charter calls for a Mayor Pro Tem, but it does not call for any Presiding Officer.

She asked the City Council to pause the position so city lawyers can study the matter.

City Manager Dan Swallow said Council has the authority to appoint an individual to run the meeting if the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are absent.

Marl said the position streamlines the process in situations when the Mayor and Mayor Pro Tem are absent. He indicated he would vote for a motion to appoint Rice and Harmount to the positions.

Then Councillor Dillon made a statement, nominating Councillor Dean Girbach for the Mayor Pro Tem position. 

"Having served on City Council for over 10 years, including the past three years as Mayor Pro Tem, I have a clear understanding of the responsibilities this role entails. The position requires reliability, accountability, sound judgment, and trust. Mr. Girbach has consistently demonstrated these qualities. I would like to put his name forward for the 2026 Mayor Pro Tem," Dillon said.

In The Saline Post's history of covering City Council, no council member has ever put forth recommendations counter to the Mayor's.

Council passed the motion to acknowledge the motion.

Then it voted on Mayor Marl's request - voting 5-2 in favor of Rice and Harmount for the positions.

Dillon and Girbach voted against the motion. After the meeting, Girbach was asked about his vote.

"It was about what's happened over the last year during the hiring of the city manager," Girbach said.

Councillor Rice joined Marl, along with former Councillors Jack Ceo and Chuck Lesch, in freezing out Acting City Manager Elle Cole as one of the final four candidates during the search for a city manager. All four later voted against her for the position.

Rice simply thanked Council for supporting her for Mayor Pro Tem.

"This is my third year, second term. I'm really looking forward to continuing my service and I appreciate the confidence of my colleagues in designating me Mayor Pro Tem," Rice said during the Reports and Other Announcements section of the meeting.

At recent meetings, Rice has sternly advised council members to promote the Rec Center and efforts to increase memberships.

During the Work Session on the Davenport House purchase, council was showing signs of being split on the issue. Mayor Marl and Councillor Girbach both seemed to be supportive of the purchase. Councillors Tramaine Halsch, Harmount and Rice all seemed to indicate opposition.

During the discussion, Dillon and Girbach criticized Rec Center spending.

"You're looking at between $23,000 and $29,000 a month (to finance the purchase of The Davenport House). That's a very reasonable amount to adjust our budgets. We are looking at this with restraints, and yet we don't follow the same procedure with the Rec Center," Dillon said. "We are constantly using the general fund to subsidize the Rec Center."

Girbach compared the spending to finance the Davenport House to the Rec Center spending.

"We're spending seven hundred thousand dollars a year and probably more that's going right out the door because of the mismanagement of the Rec Center for the last five years," Girbach said, suggesting that five years of Rec Center deficits could fund the purchase of the Davenport House.

Rice criticized comments made by Dillon and Girbach.

"We just continue to bring up the recreation center in every conversation as if it's a negative asset. It's positive asset to our city, and we're finding money," Rice said. "It's a positive asset to our city."

One financing plan involves outright purchasing the Davenport House with cash ($3 million), and then, later in the year, bonding to replenish the general fund. For a few months, at least, the fund balance would drop to 8.6 percent.  

"We're not concerned about dipping down to 8.6 percent, then why aren't we investing that  money into our Rec Center?" Rice said. "It's not the right time to take on another big project. I'm not comfortable with spending this amount of money and having to fight every year in the budget cycle when we've essentially given up on doing that for the recreation center."

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