At its regularly scheduled Sparks City Council meeting on September 5, 2023, city council members voted to terminate City Manager Neil Krutz’s employment agreement. The council determined that they were able to end Krutz’s contract “with cause” for violating a few city municipal codes including Sections 1(A), 13(B), 7(D), among others.
The decision comes after City of Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson requested a special city council meeting for August 25 to discuss Krutz’s potential termination. At that meeting, an option was presented to buy out the remainder of Krutz’s contract for $600,000, which was denied in a unanimous vote by the city council. Krutz was served a notice a few days later giving him the chance to defend his reasons for remaining in the position of Sparks City Manager at the next regularly scheduled city council meeting on September 5.
At that following meeting, City of Sparks HR Director Jill Valdez presented the options to the council on how best to handle Krutz’s contract, such as terminating his employment “with cause”, showing proof of character, alleged misconduct, competence, and physical or mental health which have had a negative impact on the city and its constituents. Performance issues and evidence showing that he did not follow his job description or perform the necessary job duties as city manager could also be brought into it.
Terminating his contract “without cause” means that the city would have to issue a 90-day notice of his termination and give Krutz one-year severance pay with benefits.
Suspending Krutz’s contract “with cause” would require a motion by the council with the causes stated and include basic payouts. Causes include breach of contract; violation of Sparks Resolution Ordinance; acts of dishonesty; moral turpitude; acts that derogate public confidence if he remains in his position; neglection of duties; violating the county/state/federal constitution; misappropriation of public funds; etc.
When terminating the contract “with cause”, the city manager must be given an opportunity to present written evidence, provide testimony, and call witnesses who can attest to his mental health.
After Valdez’s presentation, Councilmember Paul Anderson read a statement promoting Krutz’s firing, listing off the reasons and codes related to his dismissal. For instance, 7(D) was directly related to how Krutz handled former fire chief Mark Lawson’s termination last year, saying that he did not properly consult the city council, human resources, or legal counsel, which constitutes a neglect of duties. Anderson further stated that the actions of Krutz posting an unauthorized online video of Lawson’s firing has embroiled the city in expensive litigation with additional potential exposure to the city.
Anderson mentioned that Krutz has created an environment of intimidation and fear which has decreased the productivity of city employees and that all Krutz’s actions have happened in open and experienced firsthand by city council members.
Councilmember Kristopher Dahir said that in personal conversations with the then city manager, Krutz promised Dahir that he would do better and work to fix the relationships with the city council and staff. However, “Krutz did not adhere to the promises he made to me to mend the fences with city council,” he said. “I believe in the contributions of each city employee, and we need to hold accountable each person’s actions, including Mr. Krutz.”
Krutz’s attorney John Gallagher then spoke, defending his client’s employment contract.
“I’m astounded by the comments I just heard,” he said, launching into a litany of accusations against the council including an alleged open meeting law violation by not giving their client enough notice and treating Krutz with a lynch mob-type mentality.
The attorneys suggested that there were no performance issues brought up between the City of Sparks councilmembers between May and now, that Krutz had been a dedicated employee with the city for 26 years, and threatened litigation.
Neil Krutz was in the room but did not speak.
After Gallagher’s speech, Councilmember Bybee relayed, “There was a lot said, and I really took offense to a lot of it. I’ve been on this council for nine years and anyone who knows me knows that I do things in good faith and honesty, to a fault. I believe that what we are doing is what is right for the city, our employees, and interest as a whole, and this is not an easy decision to make.
“I don’t appreciate my character and the character of my colleagues being attacked today. I think we have a reputation in Sparks in doing what we hope is what is best and what’s right for our residents, our city, and most of all, for our employees.”
The council then unanimously voted to terminate Krutz’s contract with cause.
At the September 11 Sparks City Council meeting, the members discussed amending the employment contract of Police Chief Chris Crawforth to give him a bump in pay for taking on the acting city manager role. The initial recommendation suggested that he stay in the role until the end of March of 2024 and give him an additional total pay of $49,680. Since Crawforth has stepped up quite a bit since Krutz’s abrupt departure, HR Director Jill Valdez recommended that he stay on through 2026. The motion was carried unanimously, and Crawforth will be both police chief and acting city manager for Sparks until the next permanent city manager is found.
There was one public comment from Sparks firefighter Tom Dunn who spoke at the September 5 meeting following the city council’s vote.
“We thank you today for the moral courage to remove Mr. Krutz from office and look forward to a collaborative and transparent process to find the next city manager that this community, residents, and businesses deserve. A leopard never changes its spots, and we’re familiar with the jungle that we’re currently operating in. We will not be surprised if the former city manager files lawsuits or complaints based on the vote today as past behavior is a predictor of future behavior. We encourage you not to throw good money after bad and the former manager should not receive any more public dollars beyond what is found in his current agreement.”
He also had a message for all Sparks city employees, retirees, and their families: “We see you; we hear you, and we have your back. We encourage you to voice what you know and what you’ve been going through. Change won’t occur if you stay silent. Stay strong and stay united.”
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