Why City Council Fired Feldman
On March 18th I published a blog on Barry Feldman, who was fired as Portsmouth's City Manager back in 1980. Since then I have received several emails from people in the Hartford, Connecticut, area, who say the events in Portsmouth twenty-five years ago are eerily similar to those that are taking place today. Feldman is once again involved in a mall controversy and is being accused of many of the same underhanded things he was in 1980. The folks in Hartford have asked me to provide them with more particulars, which I will now try to do. What follows are the 14 reasons the Portsmouth City Council gave for removing Feldman from office. They were reported on the front page of the October 20, 1980, Portsmouth Daily Times, with the headline, "Council's Bill of Particulars in Suspension."
- It is the opinion of the City Council that you have failed to comply with the duties set forth in the Portsmouth City Charter and the applicable sections of the Ohio Revised Code, in that you have not faithfully executed the laws and ordinances of the city and state and that you have acted in other ways which cause displeasure to the Council.
- You have failed to demonstrate the qualities of impartial leadership expected of the city's chief executive.
- You have not supplied members of the City Council with proper fiscal figures within the time requirements and with the necessary information concerning the financial status of the city as outlined in the Portsmouth City Charter and the Ohio Revised Code.
- You have not handled personnel recruitment for the city in a proper, dignified manner.
- You have publicly claimed responsibility for local achievements which were in process or provided for by existing plans prior to your employment.
- You have not kept City Council adequately advised of the financial condition of the city.
- You have not conducted the city's business with other officials in such a manner as to cultivate good business relationships with the city.
- You have not administered the programs and departments of the city in a fashion which is most beneficial to the citizens of Portsmouth.
- You have failed to provide adequate information to the Council necessary for Council to carry out its duties.
- You have actively concerned yourself with the qualifications of the members of City Council
and have indicated an inability to confine yourself to the administrative and executive duties prescribed by law.
- You have expended public funds in ways which were not authorized by the City Council.
- You have acted discourteously toward certain members of the Council, which has resulted in a loss of cooperative effort between the administrative and legislative divisions of the city government.
- You have not kept Council adequately informed as to the current status of the affairs of the city.
- You do not have the confidence of a majority of the members of the City Council.
Headline announcing Feldman's firing
