After heated public comments, Fairfax council votes to hire former clerk Cynthia Simpson as interim city clerk/treasurer

After prolonged public comment and debate, the Fairfax City Council voted to hire former city clerk Cynthia Simpson as the temporary interim city clerk/treasurer, with the appointment effective February 9 and full-time employee benefits restored.

Public commenters urged the council to act. Joe Kel, Fairfax parks and recreation director, told the council the city needs experienced staff for an upcoming software migration, saying the city is switching from "GWorks" to "Edmonds" and that the new clerk will have to learn two systems in the coming year. He urged the council to begin hiring promptly and to consider bringing back the former clerk to assist with transition training.

Resident and city employee Tina Rose delivered an extended, critical statement accusing some council members of letting personal vendettas override proper administration and arguing the removal of the longtime clerk had hobbled operations. Rose said deadlines and public-record responses had been missed and called for immediate temporary reinstatement of Cynthia Simpson, arguing it would restore stability and protect city records. Her remarks included: "Rehire Cynthia's temporary city clerk. Do it now. Do it publicly and do it for the city." (speaker: Tina Rose)

During council deliberations a motion was made (text in the meeting record) to hire Cynthia Simpson as interim city clerk/treasurer, to provide her full-time employee benefits including accrued sick and vacation time and to pay mentoring work at her independent-contractor rate; the motion specified an effective date of February 9. The motion was seconded and the mayor announced the motion had carried; no numerical roll-call tally appears in the transcript.

Cynthia Simpson then spoke briefly, thanking staff and residents and saying she would "work hard to catch things up in city hall" and would prioritize business operations. The city administrator later addressed the council, restating concerns that the January 8 decision to not reappoint the clerk had left the city vulnerable and saying that the earlier decision "must have pre-planned their decision, which would have broken state of Iowa open meeting laws." The administrator said that public-record requests and audit matters remain outstanding.

The council’s transcript does not display a vote tally by name; the mayor announced the motion carried and the council scheduled implementation steps for the interim appointment.