THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, October 21, 1995 TAG: 9510200004
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A10 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Editorial
LENGTH: Medium: 68 lines
The Chesapeake City Council fired the city manager Tuesday by a 7-2 vote, and the catalyst for his ouster, he said, was his opposition to water-bill rebates for residents with salty water.
Then the council voted 5-4 against the rebates.
Go figure.
City Manager James W. Rein was fired after eight years at the city's helm and almost a quarter-century as a city employee. His dismissal came without warning and continues the Chesapeake tradition of treating city managers shabbily.
Rein's harshest critic on the council has been Vice Mayor Robert T. Nance, who stood alone three months ago in demanding Rein's resignation. Nance had ``guaranteed'' a rebate of about $1 a month to the half of Chesapeake households receiving salty water. After Rein was fired, Nance said the city manager's opposition to the rebate convinced him that Rein had to go. ``I tried my best to work with the manager the best I could,'' Nance said, ``but when it got down to the water issue . . . and the people that are suffering and the things that are going on, I just couldn't tolerate any more.''
City Manager Rein had been joined by the city attorney and the director of public utilities in opposing the rebates.
New federal regulations require that Chesapeake, the state's fastest-growing city, build an improved filtering system, at a projected cost of $72 million to $78 million. Council raised the water and sewer rate by $2.10 for the average household's bimonthly bill to help pay for the plant.
A rebate for half of Chesapeake's residents because their water is salty might make sense, except the money is needed to make the water less salty.
Council was right to defeat the rebate proposal. Nance was wrong to promise voters a rebate he couldn't deliver.
Rein needn't leave his job in shame. City managers, like baseball managers, are hired to be fired. If he wanted a lifetime job, he should have remained lower in the bureaucracy.
Some citizens have complained that Rein was too slow to uncover and correct scandals in city departments, notably in the city garage and the inspection department. But surely his personal integrity and commitment are unquestioned.
With democratic government, highly trained and committed professional workers like Rein have as bosses elected amateurs who may or may not be competent. Although no other political system works better, although elected representatives of the people should remain in charge, you have to feel sorry from time to time for certain professionals. Rein, who was noted for his unfailingly courteous treatment of the public, deserved decent treatment himself.
He wasn't fired solely because of a $1-a-month rebate, but he wouldn't have been fired at this time except for his opposition to it. Councilman W. Joe Newman said Tuesday, ``It finally became very clear to me that we needed to make a culture change. . . .'' What he meant is unclear and should be made clear, but obviously seven council menbers believe the city would be better led by somebody new, and they have every right to change city managers.
Still, when council members treat a man of Rein's long service so disrespectfully, the question arises, ``What are their values?'' Council's rude treatment of Rein may render potential candidates for the job wary of succeeding him. ILLUSTRATION: Photo
JAMES W. REIN
by CNB