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Mayor explains removal of senior center administrator, promises meeting with seniors
Summary
Mayor Mark Ward told a crowded chamber the county removed the senior center administrator for repeated administrative failures but said activities such as bingo and meals will continue; he offered to meet with seniors to explain the decision.
Mayor Mark Ward told attendees at the Benton County Commission meeting that he removed the senior center administrator after repeated failures to complete required administrative tasks and to cooperate with county reporting requirements.
"I'm the one that hired Mary Ellen," Ward said. "She does a great job with the bingo, the dinners, the outings. ... But she wouldn't work with other people in the office well. She wouldn't use people to do the things that she needed to do. She was late on all of her reports. She wouldn't get POs for purchasing." (First reference: Mayor Mark Ward, Mayor; transcript segment: mayor addressing seniors.)
Ward said the county had documented the problems and repeatedly asked the administrator to correct them. "We've bent over backwards the last 6 months to try to get her to do what we needed her to do, and she's refused to," Ward said. He added that the decision was not intended to remove popular activities: "We're not getting rid of bingo, not getting rid of dinners, not getting rid of outings. Everything will continue the way it's been going at the senior citizen center, but we're gonna make sure that the paperwork's done."
Ward said he would meet with seniors at the center to explain the county's concerns and invited residents to call his office or his cell for questions. He told commissioners he would attend a Wednesday bingo session to meet with senior center members if weather permitted.
Why it matters: The senior center provides social programs and services used by local older residents. Ward framed the change as an administrative action to ensure compliance with county purchasing and reporting rules and to avoid potential findings by the comptroller.
Community reaction: A person identified in the proceedings as a resident thanked the commission for recognizing a slain officer with a separate proclamation at the meeting and also expressed appreciation to the commission’s action on senior matters earlier; that comment occurred during the ceremonial portion of the meeting and was not the subject of the administrative discussion.
Next steps: Mayor Ward said staff would schedule a public meeting at the senior citizen center so residents could ask questions and county staff could explain the procedural concerns that led to the personnel action.
