The Atlantic City Council, Wednesday evening, unanimously passed (with Councilpersons Jimerson and Hartkopf absent) the first of three readings of an ordinance that would essentially take away the power of the Parks and Recreation Department Board of Directors, to hire, fire or discipline staff working for the Department, assume oversight of their bills, and turn those matters over to City Administrator John Lund.

Councilperson Kathy Somers said the change is important, primarily because the City Administrator could better handle Human Resources matters, such legal issues that could arise in areas of hiring, terminations and disciplinary actions. Councilmen Halder, Pat McCurdy and Gerald Brink agreed that the City wasn’t “Asking any more from the Parks Department than we’re asking from the other departments.”

Halder said “Some people are seeing this as a power struggle. It’s not a power struggle, we’re just trying to do our best to protect the city.” City Administrator John Lund said “The State of Iowa looks at us as a business. The court system of Iowa looks at us as a business.” And, “All of our liabilities that we are held accountable to, are automatically passed-on to the taxpayers. That is a ‘quiet levy’ that exists. It is unlimited. If we get sued and it is over our cap, we have to pay it. Cities [in Iowa and other States such as Georgia] cannot file for bankruptcy to escape those liabilities.”

Former Atlantic Mayor, and Parks Board member John Krogman summed-up what most of the Parks Board felt after hearing about the proposed amendment to the ordinance. He said their main issue is a lack of communication between the City, Lund, and the Board. Especially with regard to learning about the proposal just minutes before they were scheduled to meet this past Monday evening. “We feel the system (in place now) has been working for the Parks Board in its current form,” but the way they found out could have been handled better.

Former Atlantic businessman Rich Perry questioned having the opportunity of hiring and firing, “In one man’s hands.” Perry said “If you have a disagreement between two individuals, what protection does the second individual have on that? Is there not an opportunity to have a hybrid system of some kind, that would involved the Board as far as having some of the decisions, but would also work with some of the administrators cover our behind?” He asked if other opportunities were researched to accomplish the same thing, “Without changing the ordinance to literally cut the legs out from under the Parks Board?”

City Administrator John Lund said he looked at other ordinances, but that they were “totally insufficient.” Mayor Dave Jones said the City Council would have the authority to reverse any decision made by Lund with regard to any hiring, firing and disciplinary action of a City Employee.