1 week after Eagle voters elected him, the City Council voted to limit new mayor’s power
The Eagle City Council has approved a proposal from outgoing Mayor Jason Pierce to restrict incoming Mayor Brad Pike’s powers to make staffing decisions and set agendas.
The changes, which Pierce added to the agenda about 24 hours before Tuesday’s council meeting, amend two city ordinances.
One change prevents the mayor-elect from firing three employees who would work under him unless the council votes to dismiss them as well.
These employees are city spokesperson Dana Biberston, Economic Development Specialist Tammie Halcomb, and Nichoel Baird-Spencer, director of long-range planning and projects.
The council is generally aligned with Pierce, who lost the divisive Dec. 5 runoff election to Pike one week earlier.
Pierce told the Idaho Statesman that there was friction between the council and Pike and that the changes are intended to make sure Pike works with council members and doesn’t fire certain staff members in retribution.
“Basically all we did is protect everybody that works directly under the mayor,” Pierce said in a phone interview.
Pike was the only one of the four City Council members to vote no. Mayors do not vote except to break ties.
Pike told the Statesman that Pierce’s comment was an unfair statement to make when Pike hadn’t met with or had conversations with those staff members to determine what their needs were. Somewhere along the line, he said, they must have had a concern that he would remove them from their positions.
“I haven’t had the opportunity to have a discussion with any of them,” Pike said by phone. “What was the knee-jerk reaction? What was the need for these amendments to take place?”
The second change affects how the council and mayor make council agendas. If a council member previously wanted to add something to an agenda, the member could ask the mayor, Pierce said. If the mayor stalled or denied the addition, the council member could ask staff members at a public meeting to add something to the agenda.
The changes force the mayor and council president to work together to set agendas.
“The city council president, or pro tem in their absence, shall review and approve all city council meeting agendas in collaboration with the mayor,” according to the amended ordinance.
Pierce said mayors don’t have much power and that the changes do not restrict Pike’s abilities to get anything done.
“There’s nothing he can’t get done that’s any different,” Pierce said.
But Pierce said the changes ensure that Pike wouldn’t stall city government and would prevent him from “holding the city hostage” by refusing to add items that council members want.
“It makes sure government is moving along,” Pierce said.
Pike, who is the current city council president, said he was not aware of the changes until the last minute and did not know the reason behind them, as it had always been the custom and tradition of the mayor to have those privileges.
“This is not good for the city or the council,” Pike said during Tuesday’s meeting. “This is clearly an attempt to strip traditions away from the incoming mayor. Although legal as per state statute, I’m concerned with the motivation to present this now.”
Pike asked multiple times during the meeting why Pierce wanted to change the ordinances. Pierce replied that the council asked for them.
Pierce said he did not know why council members were changing the rules now. He later said the council had wanted these changes to take place for awhile, and that council members had expressed concern about someone new stepping into the mayorship “who has a lot of different philosophies.”
“I was very obviously frustrated and disappointed to see this,” Pike said. “I don’t really see the reasons behind this right now.”
Pike said that, despite his frustration, he is here to serve Eagle residents and is confident that he will do so in his new role come January.
“We’ll just have to take the arrows as they come,” Pike said.
Potential meeting violations
Pike noted that Pierce alleged that the council wanted these changes despite the council never including Pike, the council president, in a discussion about them.
Pike said he wasn’t given any information on the proposed changes and wondered whether there was a closed-door meeting that may have violated Idaho’s open meetings law.
“There’s only one way for that statement from the mayor to be made,” Pike said. “There had to be a conversation.”
Pierce said no backroom meetings or conversations had taken place about the changes and that, just as with other agenda items, a council member approached him and asked him to put it on the agenda.
“This is just one of those things that one of the council members did,” Pierce said.
