The fate of suspended City Manager Mitch Waller will likely be decided Wednesday when the Westminster City Council meets.
On the agenda for that night are two items related to Waller, who was placed on paid administrative leave in July for reasons never publicly revealed. In closed session the council will confer with its attorneys about “public employee discipline/dismissal/release.
During the open portion of the meeting, the council will take up what’s termed a “employment retirement agreement” with Waller.
Waller was the chief of police in Westminster and oversaw the construction of the new police facility, which was finished on time and under budget. When the city manager’s post came open, the council tapped him for the job, first as an interim replacement, and then as the permanent city manager.
“Permanent” turned out to be quite brief. He had served 28 years in the Westminster Police Department, the last one as chief of police. He was named interim city manager in January 2011, then got the job for good three months later.
Waller and the city were hit by a financial storm, as a combination of slow economic activity (and the resulting shortfall of taxes) and the state-ordered dissolution of the redevelopment agency left the city with a $10.4 million deficit.
Striving to balance the books, the city laid off 67 employees, but then had to pay almost $9 million in funds that had been accruing in the redevelopment fund.
The relationship between the council and the city manager deteriorated, and on July 16 Waller was placed on leave, with the option to either retire or face termination.
The meeting is in the Council Chamber, 8200 Westminster Blvd., with the closed session starting at 6:30 p.m. and the open session at 7 p.m.
Mitch Waller
