Hayden at a crossroads

Three members of the Hayden City Council have lost confidence in their city administrator, Stefan Chatwin.

Because of that, Chatwin's losing confidence in his ability to do his job, unfettered by political gamesmanship or workplace shenanigans.

For the good of the city, we encourage all parties to mend fences.

Chatwin has made some enemies since he assumed the top administrative post in Hayden city government in March 2009. He's streamlined the bureaucracy, reducing nine department head positions to four. He's been the guy whose responsibilities include passing along bad news about pay and benefits to employees - a great way to win taxpayer appreciation but not popularity contests with employees.

But by his own admission, Chatwin needs to listen more closely to his bosses on the council and be more aware of his tendency to come off as arrogant or unapproachable with his employees. Right now a majority of his bosses is sending a loud warning. Three of five council members voted after executive session to end Chatwin's contract, but failed because such a move requires unanimous agreement.

A cause of discontent, superficially, at least, is Chatwin's travel expenses. However, Chatwin has averaged about $90 a month in travel expenses since he took the job, an extremely reasonable overall figure. So what's this really about? Mayor Ron McIntire believes it's about clashing personalities - styles, perhaps, that don't mesh.

While we have no direct insight into the daily operations of the city, we do see the bottom line, and since Chatwin was hired, that city's bottom line is impressive. And looking back on a story published in The Press shortly after Chatwin began work, we think he's been delivering what the city wanted.

The May 2009 story reads, in part:

The most crucial project Chatwin will have to tackle for now is helping conduct zero-based budgeting for the city, said City Councilwoman Nancy Lowery.

Cutting out fluff will be the bottom line, she said, as the city is grappling with low revenues and a sluggish building industry during the recession.

"Eventually we'll look at a potential for a levy increase, because our levy is so low at this point it's hard to provide the services that our citizens have been accustomed to," she said of Hayden's levy of 72 cents on the $1,000. "Eventually the city will run out of money."

Hayden continues to provide excellent services with one of the lowest levy rates in Idaho. The mayor and council deserve much of the credit for that, but so does the city administrator.

We have an abiding respect for each of the council members and for Chatwin. In our experience, nobody in government, at the local, state or federal levels, is more thorough, open and responsive to requests for public information than is Chatwin. We see Hayden city government, working together, as one of the most effective and efficient teams around.

It's certainly worth investing in more communication and consideration so that the citizens of Hayden continue to benefit from this winning teamwork.