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Three Galena council members walk out during hiring dispute; meeting adjourned for lack of quorum
Summary
Three council members left a Sept. 23 Village of Galena meeting after heated remarks about the administrator hiring process, leaving the council without a quorum and forcing adjournment. Mike Fry and Chris Durrence explicitly criticized the handling of candidates; Mayor Jeff Kinnell disputed those characterizations.
Three members of the Village of Galena council walked out of the council meeting on Sept. 23, 2024, after a contentious exchange over the process for filling a village administrator position, and the meeting was adjourned for lack of a quorum.
Mike Fry, council member, opened the executive‑session discussion with a lengthy statement accusing some council members of stalling the hiring process to push candidates to withdraw. "The process has been stalled as a way to drive the remaining candidates towards disinterest of the job and eventually some hoping that candidates would withdraw from consideration," Fry said, and then announced he would "walk out of the remainder of this meeting in protest." Mayor Jeff Kinnell responded, "And my comment on that is none of that was accurate." Fry left the meeting at 7:10 p.m.
Shortly after Fry left, Council Member Chris Durrence said, "I agree with what Mike just did," and also left at about 7:11 p.m. Council Member Josh Porter later criticized council personnel for perceived intimidation of candidates, describing salary and negotiation discussions and asserting that at least one applicant withdrew after contact with council members; Porter left the meeting at 7:16 p.m.
Council Member Gillian Doucette said she had spoken with candidate Jonathan Merriman in a one‑on‑one conversation at the request of other council members and that Merriman later told her he would withdraw because the position represented too large a pay cut. Doucette said she shared that information with council. Council President Kathy Krupa and other members disputed the characterization of events during the exchange.
The departures reduced the number of members present below the quorum threshold, and the meeting ended at 7:16 p.m. without further action. Fiscal Officer Michelle Dearth noted a recording of the meeting is available upon request and on the village website. The council's next scheduled meeting is Oct. 28, 2024.
The dispute arose while council was considering an appointment process for vacancies on the New Community Authority board and related personnel matters; Resolution No. 2024‑17 did not move forward for final action and will return for second reading at the October meeting.
