BY RICHELLE THOMPSON
The Cincinnati Enquirer
LEBANON - City Manager Richard Hayward couldn't please everybody. Especially not seven council members during a year defined by controversy and political fighting.
Mr. Hayward, who reports to council, had to juggle differing opinions about whether to proceed with one of his pet projects, establishing a $5 million telecommunications system. He faced an effort to fire him, public criticism of his job performance and a council that saw four new members within a year.
They all were part of Mr. Hayward's decision to resign after 11 years in the top administrative position for Warren County's second-largest city (after Mason). He announced his decision Tuesday.
"City councils are a hard type of management to deal with," Councilman Joe McKenzie said. "You've got seven bosses, each one with a different character."
In his resignation letter, Mr. Hayward cited other employment opportunities as his reason for leaving. He declined to elaborate. His letter said he would remain city manager until May 31 or until he accepted another position.
Mr. Hayward interviewed this weekend with two other candidates for the city manager position in Delaware, Ohio, a Columbus suburb facing rapid-growth issues similar to Lebanon's. Delaware council expects to make a decision this week.
On Sunday, David Weiser, a Delaware councilman and head of the search committee for the new city manager, said Mr. Hayward "did real well."
"Whether or not we're going to offer him the job, we don't know at this time who we're going to offer it to," Mr. Weiser said. "There's support for all three candidates."
Council members hope to have a decision by Friday, he said.
Mr. Hayward's role in Lebanon's growth, which was criticized by some council members and residents in Lebanon, is a large part of why Delaware is interested in him, Mr. Weiser said. The two cities have similar issues: attracting industry, maintaining a historic downtown and managing residential development.
Lebanon council members were vague last week about their role in Mr. Hayward's resignation. One city official said a majority of council pressured the manager to resign because of concerns about job performance.
Mayor James Mills and Councilman John McComb declined to comment. Vice Mayor Amy Brewer did not return phone calls.
Talk of Mr. Hayward's resigning began in September, shortly after all the seats were filled on council, Mr. McKenzie said.
"Once we had our new council constituted, we developed some big ideas of what we thought the city should be. We needed Richard to give us positive, can-do feedback. He wasn't giving that at this point."
Mr. Hayward already had started casually looking for other city manager jobs, Mr. McKenzie said.
Council told Mr. Hayward: "This is what we want. What do you think?" Mr. McKenzie said. "We can't continue with (Mr. Hayward) actively looking for a job and not committing to the city. Make a choice."
Just six months earlier, Mr. Hayward said in an interview that he hoped to finish his career in Lebanon. During his 11-year tenure, he helped restabilize the city after financial troubles. He actively sought new and expanded industries, which have generated 2,200 jobs since 1990. Mr. Hayward rebuilt the city's utility company and led the move to start a telecommunications system.
"Mr. Hayward really served three jobs," businessman Mike Schueler said. "City manager, running the public utility and implementing the new cable system."
Mr. Schueler points to a year of council criticism as the impetus for Mr. Hayward's resignation. "One group (of council) would tell him the rules," he said. "Then the other group would change them."
Resident Jim Klei considers Mr. Hayward's resignation "the worst move the city's made in 11 years."
"When you have a town of that size, you can't have 50 people running the ship. Richard did what he could to get the town running in the right direction," said Mr. Klei, who resigned from the city's planning commission in October after serving seven years. "I don't think the city will be able to replace him."
But Councilman Jim Reinhard thinks the resignation will be good for the city - and good for Mr. Hayward.
"In the last three months, (Mr. Hayward's) been preoccupied," Mr. Reinhard said. "His job performance has been adequate. . . . I haven't heard anybody on council disagree with Richard's decision."
