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Mayor publicly criticizes engineering partner WGA and asks council to withhold payment
Summary
Mayor Sarah Countryman used the public forum to say WGA "has lost their way," accused a former city employee now at WGA of reckless record-keeping, and asked the council not to pay an invoice dated 10/24/2025 tied to that person. Council members acknowledged concerns and said staff could make access adjustments.
Montgomery — In public forum at the start of the Nov. 10 meeting, Mayor Sarah Countryman criticized the city's contract relationship with engineering firm WGA and asked council to withhold payment for a specific invoice.
Countryman said she believed WGA "has lost their way" and "no longer values the taxpayer and citizens of Montgomery." She raised concerns about a former city employee she said had been speaking negatively about the city and who, she said, was now working in a capacity for WGA. Countryman said she was holding an invoice dated Oct. 24, 2025 and asked the council not to pay that portion.
"WGA, remember who you serve. It's not yourself. It's not city hall. It's the taxpayer," Countryman said during public comment, urging the council to either force a change in WGA's conduct or end the relationship.
Council and staff responded during later discussion that planning/engineering staff could adjust access and that the city engineer "said, yes" about removing that person's involvement with city business. Council also later discussed reviewing engineering services and exploring going out to bid; council members agreed to consider procurement questions and potential future agenda items regarding engineering contracts.
The transcript records Countryman's public comment and requests; the council did not take immediate formal action to withhold payment on the invoice at the meeting.
