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Selma council votes in closed session to fire city manager, names Jerome Keane acting manager and orders memo released
Summary
In a 4-1 closed-session vote, the Selma City Council voted to terminate City Manager Fernando Santion, appointed Jerome Keane as acting city manager and voted to publicly release a memorandum listing reasons for termination.
The Selma City Council voted in closed session to terminate City Manager Fernando Santion and to appoint Jerome Keane as acting city manager, City Attorney Costanza reported at the start of the April 15 regular meeting.
Costanza told the council the closed-session vote was 4–1 and said, “That termination will be effective the day that he receives his final paycheck with all amounts owed to him, which we expect to occur within the week or no later than next Friday.” He also said the council voted 4–1 to release publicly a memorandum, prepared by him and John Kunkle, that “itemizes the reasons for terminating Fernando Santion” and that document “will be made publicly available forthwith.”
Mayor Robertson framed the action as part of restoring public trust, saying in a prepared statement, “The people depend on their elected government representatives and employees to place the people's financial interests above their own. When that trust is broken … the people's financial position must be restored and those who have betrayed that trust must be held to account.” The mayor said the council will work to restore transparency in city financial dealings.
The city attorney also noted a public records request had already been submitted for the memorandum by a representative of the city’s represented employees. No mover or seconder for the closed-session motions was announced in the public report and the transcript does not identify which council member voted no; Costanza reported only the 4–1 tally. The council did not take any additional public actions on the staffing matter during the open session besides the attorney’s report.
Council instructions reported by the attorney include making the memorandum public “forthwith” and implementing the acting manager appointment. Jerome Keane was identified in the open meeting as the acting city manager; the record does not show a timeframe for a recruitment or permanent replacement.
The council’s report and the attorney’s statement provide the immediate record of the decisions; the promised memorandum is the document the public will be able to review for the council’s stated rationale.
