Get tickets for Tuesday's Council Workshop

If you thought last Tuesday's discussion of zoning item PH-7 was fun (and it was, even as it brought out serious issues) then the workshop at 1700 on June 19 should entertain you even more.

This weekend, Mayor Corbin posted this on Facebook (reposted here with his permission):

The negotiating committee [for a contract to hire Glenn Morrison as City Manager] will give the council an update at the workshop on Tuesday evening. I expect a group of malcontents will be there urging us to rescind our previous decision; they should know those comments would be out of order but I know it will happen. Even though it would be out of order, I will probably ask the Council to let some of them address the Council.

Personally, I think Glenn Morrison will make a competent city manager.  He has the skills and is interested in doing the job.  For the most part, the city staff likes him and can work with him.  As citizens, we've had 15 months' experience with Morrison as City Manager in all but name.  Unfortunately, six of those currently serving as elected city officials have only a few weeks' experience with him in their governmental capacity.

I don't know if Mayor Corbin considers me a malcontent -- I disagree with him occasionally, so maybe he does -- or whether he would allow me to speak on Tuesday.  If he did, this is what I would say:

What each council member should keep in mind is that he or she will have to answer the question "Why did you vote to hire Glenn Morrison, one of the most important actions of your term, so soon after you took office?"   With the grace of God and the character of Mr Morrison, the question will not arise in a Connie Green-like context,  but at the very latest it will come up in the next campaign.


The five newly-elected members (and I'll include Mr Lower, who was appointed not long before a quorum of the previous council was recalled) will be able to give the following answers if they act today:

1. It was what Mayor Corbin wanted us to to.
2. Many individuals, including former Mayor Hancock and Bob Blair, spoke highly of Glenn Morrison.
3. I had observed him as a citizen before I was elected to council and from what I could see, he did the Acting City Manager job well.

What the members should want to answer, and how I want them to be able to answer, and how they need to answer in order to rebuild citizen trust in the Council -- is

• In my capacity as council member, I observed Mr Morrison through the budget process.  I paid attention to the way he resolved conflicts, unwound complexities, achieved consensus and presented results both within the city staff and between staff and council.  After that, it was a no-brainer.

I have no doubt that Glenn Morrison will be Killeen City Manager and will be a good one.  I have a great deal of doubt that the City Council will come to that conclusion for the right reasons.  If you act today, you will almost certainly be doing the right thing for the wrong reasons, and you will not be able to justify your action.