Yamhill council terminates city administrator, appoints budget officer and delegates mayor interim authority

The Yamhill City Council voted April 20, 2025, to terminate the employment agreement with City Administrator Shelley Reimer effective April 20, 2025, and to appoint Kara Corrigan as the city’s budget officer effective immediately. The council also delegated administrative authority to Mayor Shay Corrigan under the city charter and code for the short term as the council addresses a projected general-fund shortfall.

Council members opened the special meeting by moving past public comment to unfinished business, noting a budget forecast released to council that the mayor described as “not a great number” and as the reason for calling the special meeting. Council discussion focused on whether to pursue a loan, make layoffs, or take other measures to balance the general fund; several council members said they preferred pursuing a loan over staff layoffs but acknowledged uncertainty about loan terms and ongoing revenue.

After discussion, a councilmember moved to terminate Reimer’s employment under the contract’s not-for-cause provision with an effective date of 04/20/2025; the motion was seconded and approved. The meeting record does not include a full roll-call tally for that motion. Following the termination, councilors said the city must replace the budget officer because the city administrator had been the budget officer for the upcoming budget process.

A councilmember then moved to appoint Kara Corrigan as the city’s budget officer effective immediately; that motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. One council member announced a recusal for the portion of the meeting about the budget officer because the person who previously served in that capacity is the city’s finance manager; that council member briefly turned the meeting over to Council President Tim Hasky to continue the discussion.

The council also debated how to maintain day-to-day operations while the budget is finalized. Legal counsel advised the council that, to avoid convening public meetings for every operational decision, the council could delegate administrative authority to a single council member. The council moved to delegate to Mayor Shay Corrigan the council’s administrative authorities under chapter 2, section 6 of the city charter and the authority granted by chapter 1.28 of the code of ordinances, effective immediately (04/20/2025). The vote record captured in the transcript for that delegation shows Councilmember Eske voted aye, Councilmember Morgan abstained, Councilmember Kent voted aye and Councilmember Aaron voted aye; other individual votes were not fully recorded in the available transcript excerpt.

Council members also asked city staff to investigate the accounting error cited in the forecast so the municipality can prevent similar problems in future budget cycles. One council member urged an investigation "not necessarily to hang somebody high, but to guarantee that this never happens to this town again," and council discussion included a request for the full budget projection and supporting detail to be made available at the next scheduled budget meeting.

The council identified the next steps as: (1) moving forward with the April/May budget process with Kara Corrigan as budget officer, (2) using Mayor Shay Corrigan as the delegated administrative authority for immediate operational decisions, and (3) convening an investigation or internal review to determine how the forecasting error occurred. The council noted a budget packet or forecast that will be released to councilors on the Tuesday following the meeting and set the next substantive review for the May 14 council meeting.

The council adjourned after completing the staffing motions and brief discussion about the budget timeline.