Claremont City Manager Alleges Council Fired Him Over Tax Abatement Decision

By Patrick O’Grady

Valley News Correspondent

Published: 01-04-2019 12:10 AM

Claremont — The City Council resolution listing the reasons for the firing of City Manager Ryan McNutt earlier this week cited his “failure” to give the council advance notice of issues that could be of concern to the public and to communicate courteously with others.

But McNutt believes the council’s displeasure comes down to one thing: a dispute over an abatement related to the Topstone Mill building on Mulberry Street last summer.

“I guarantee you, everything is related to Topstone,” McNutt said on Thursday in a phone interview. “The only thing for them is Topstone.”

The council was caught off guard in September when it learned through a blog, the Sullivan Report, that the city’s assessor, in consultation with McNutt, had not only reduced the assessed value of the Topstone building by 75 percent, but also forgave about $220,000 in back taxes. The authority to make such decisions rests with the assessor and there is no requirement to inform the council or obtain its approval.

McNutt defended the decision at the time, saying it was the best chance to provide the owner with some opportunity to redevelop the five-story former mill building, which is mostly vacant.

When the tax abatement became public knowledge, the council heard a storm of protest from several residents at a public meeting while acknowledging it had not been informed of the tax abatement by McNutt. Topstone had been the subject of several discussions by the council over unpaid taxes. Though it can take the building through a tax deed process, it has elected not to because of an the unknown extent of contamination there.

The City Council voted, 7-2, on Wednesday night to fire McNutt, with Councilors Nick Koloski and Claire Lessard opposed. Koloski’s Time-Out Americana Grill is a tenant in the Topstone building, but he has said he was not aware of the abatement until it was reported publicly and has vehemently denied suggestions from some residents that political favoritism came into play.

But there were clear signals that the City Council was not entirely happy with McNutt’s performance. In October, it voted to spend up to $6,500 to hire a former municipal manger to “coach” McNutt on improving communication with the City Council and the public.

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Contacted on Thursday, Koloski said in an email that because McNutt’s dismissal is a personnel matter, he cannot comment. He restated what he said in public at Wednesday night’s meeting when the council voted to terminate McNutt.

“I have an issue spending taxpayers’ dollars to improve communication and then arriving at a decision with no real measure of that process or a real amount of time for it to occur,” Koloski said, referring to the October decision to hire a coach. “This process amounted to lip service to me. I think it is terribly shortsighted and worry about the financial implications it has going forward.”

The council resolution citing the reasons for McNutt’s dismissal also includes general references to his “failure” to inform the council of matters affecting the city and failure to communicate professionally with the public and council.

Asked on Thursday to elaborate on those failures and give some specifics, Mayor Charlene Lovett said she could not comment further.

“I am not able to go beyond what was contained in the press release because it is personnel,” Lovett said.

On Wednesday evening, after learning of his termination, McNutt said he would file an appeal and have it heard in public session. He said he has never been given any specifics about problems the council has with his managerial style, either by the council as a whole or individually.

In a statement released on Thursday, McNutt made reference to a sometimes prickly relationship with the council.

“The relationship between the council and my office has felt fractured, the differences in our approaches have caused needless hurdles for the city,” McNutt said. “My ability to mediate these differences is further hampered by the limited feedback the council has provided and the lack of transparency to ensure we are all working on the same understanding.”

McNutt said he has tried hard to build “rapport and dialogue” with city officials and employees, along with area businesses and members of the general public.

For several months, the city has been holding nonpublic meetings related to personnel on a regular basis, something McNutt said began just a few months after he was hired.

“Every single time the mayor doesn’t get what she wants, she calls a nonpublic (meeting),” McNutt said.

He said on Wednesday he was never given the chance to defend himself in the council’s nonpublic discussions.

McNutt said the math clearly tells him his hearing will not change the minds of enough councilors for him to keep his job.

“Even if (Abigail) Kier and (Scott) Pope flip, they still have the five votes,” McNutt said, referring to Lovett, Assistant Mayor Allen Damren and councilors Andrew O’Hearne, Jonathan Stone and Jeremy Zullo.

“Zullo told me he would vote to fire me because I didn’t own a home in Claremont,” McNutt said, referring to something that was allegedly said several months ago.

On Thursday, Zullo denied making such a statement.

“I never told him that,” Zullo said. “We were talking this summer and I asked him if he was going to buy a house in Claremont and he said he had no intention. That didn’t sit very well with me. I think if you are at the helm of the city, you should own property here.”

Zullo also denied that the decision to fire McNutt was about the Topstone building.

“It had nothing to do with the Topstone. There were other things he didn’t inform us or misinformed us,” said Zullo, adding he could not get into specifics.

McNutt was hired in early 2017 at a salary of $110,000, replacing longtime Manager Guy Santagate, who retired. Former Keene City Manager John MacLean will serve as interim until a permanent replacement is hired, though no timeline for that process has been established.

Lovett said on Thursday she is working with the city’s lawyer to be sure the process to hear McNutt’s appeal is done properly. She assumes that once an appeal is filed, the council will set a date for a hearing.

McNutt is being paid six months’ salary, a provision in his contract. The termination takes effect in 30 days. He has been placed on administrative leave during those 30 days, meaning he will no longer serve as manager.

McNutt’s contract also stipulates that the salary payment is done with the agreement that he cannot bring legal action against the city for termination of his employment.

In his statement on Thursday, McNutt said he was grateful for his time in Claremont and proud of several accomplishments.

“Claremont grew in retail, adding more stores in place of vacancies on Washington Street, we passed budgets that reduced expenditures and funded investments that were prioritized by the City Council,” it said in part, also noting an uptick in the city’s bond rating.

Patrick O’Grady can be reached at pogclmt@gmail.com.

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