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Pleasant Valley board votes to repeal city-administrator form of government after heated debate
Summary
The Pleasant Valley board voted to repeal the city-administrator form of government following a lengthy administration report and sustained debate about the administrator’s role and authority; the meeting moved into closed session on personnel afterward.
The Pleasant Valley board voted to repeal the city-administrator form of government after extended debate and public comment, and later moved into closed session to discuss personnel matters. The vote followed a long administration report defending recent financial and operational changes.
Supporters said the change restores a more traditional mayor-led structure and gives the board clearer control over appointed positions. "We just passed a motion to repeal the form of government," a council member said during the roll call. Opponents said they were troubled by the process and cautioned the change could prompt legal challenges and employee uncertainty.
City administrator David delivered a detailed account of reconciliations, audit timing and recent administrative work, arguing the administration had corrected prior accounting problems and brought the city’s books into better order. "We wrote off a $123,901.75 through sloppy accounting," David said while walking the board through reconciliations, saying the current reports are "clean as you can get a reconciliation." He framed those changes as justification for retaining the administrator role.
Board members who opposed the repeal emphasized the lack of a clear, public reason to remove the administrator role and warned of the costs of litigation and staff disruption. "I have not heard a good enough reason to justify doing this," one alderman said, urging colleagues to consider employee dignity and the risk of lawsuits.
After the roll-call vote on the repeal, the board approved a motion to go into closed session to discuss personnel under the stated statutory subsection for personnel matters. No personnel outcome was announced on the public record at adjournment; board members offered parting comments thanking long-serving officials and noting next steps.
The repeal changes how the city assigns administrative authority and is likely to require follow-up ordinance language and administrative updates; the board directed staff to handle the procedural details at a later meeting.
