Ark Valley News - Council fires administrator

Scott Hildebrand

Council fires administrator
By Chris Strunk
Last Updated: January 10, 2019

From the outside, everything looked fine for Valley Center City Administrator Scott Hildebrand.

Sure, he had verbal run-ins with a couple of city council members, and he had a few hiccups with other community leaders.

But deep into his third year at the helm of the city, Hildebrand appeared to be well liked by the majority of the council and respected by many for his get-it-done attitude.

Until Jan. 8.

In a hastily called emergency meeting, the city council unanimously voted to fire Hildebrand. The council gave no reasons for the termination, although Mayor Dove described the situation as "significant." The 8-0 vote left no doubt the firing was immediate and it was one-sided. There will be no severance packages or farewell receptions for Hildebrand.

"I can't talk about personnel issues, but I can say that there were a lot of things that were going well and a lot of things that he did well," Dove said. "The council just determined it was time to part ways. … I think in the end, it will be a positive thing for the city. We do appreciate the work he's put in. Lots of things have improved during his time. Our progress isn't necessarily contingent upon him."

The News asked Dove whether there was a particular indiscretion that led to Hildebrand's firing or whether there were ongoing problems.

"That's a fair question," Dove said. "… I think that's what everyone is going to want to know. But, unfortunately, that's not a question I can answer because it's too specific into personnel. What comes out of that is people assign their own meaning, and sometimes it's right and sometimes it's not."

Dove said there were no legal issues that she was aware of.

Valley Center police Chief Lloyd Newman confirmed that there had been no law enforcement calls regarding Hildebrand, his family or his residence during the past week.

Hildebrand was not at the Jan. 8 meeting, nor was he at City Hall during the day. He did not respond to The News' request for a comment.

The meeting was planned and Hildebrand was fired in the span of just a few hours. A meeting notice was sent to the public just before noon Jan. 8, five hours before the meeting took place. The council met for a combined 45 minutes in executive session before taking a vote. Hildebrand had been at the city council's most recent regularly scheduled meeting on Jan. 2. There appeared to be no issues with Hildebrand at that time.

"I think people who are familiar with the city and are involved with the city in different aspects will assign their own meaning to it," Dove said. "… My feeling is to apprise council immediately of anything that would be significant, and this would definitely fall into this category. This one falls to the council to make a decision on."

Hildebrand had been with the city since July 2016. He was working under a two-year contract that was approved in 2017. He was making $100,000 per year.

During his tenure, Hildebrand combined the fire and police departments under one public safety umbrella with one public safety director, he pushed the ball on the long-awaited construction of a new community center and library, and he had a hand in improving city employee morale.

"I don't have anything negative to say about some of the things he's done," Dove said.

But Hildebrand wasn't without his detractors. He verbally wrangled with council member Lou Cicirello and took offense when Cicirello challenged a proposal of his recently. Hildebrand also came under fire by council member Ron Colbert, who said Hildebrand put him off by not returning a phone call about a concern Colbert had with council ward boundaries.

Hildebrand's relationship with the public library board of directors also was strained, especially after he floated the idea of making the library a department of the city in 2017. That rift apparently never mended, coming to a head recently when the city council and the library board met together to iron out issues with the new, shared facility in Lions Park.

Hildebrand stirred controversy when he fired a couple of longtime popular employees during the past year, including former fire Capt. Rob Tormey.

Hildebrand also oversaw the flailing reconstruction of Fifth Street, which has been plagued by delays.

In July 2018, Hildebrand was a finalist for the city administrator job in Great Bend. Hildebrand told local media in Great Bend that the job would be a step up for him and he couldn't pass the opportunity to apply. Hildebrand later said he withdrew from the running and publicly rededicated his loyalty to the City of Valley Center.

This was the first city administrator position Hildebrand had ever held. The Liberal native was a former attorney who worked in city compliance and risk management positions before coming to Valley Center.

"Our plan is to continue the city on the path that it's been, which has been a very good path with growth and a lot of good things happening," Dove said. "… I think in our search (for Hildebrand's replacement), we will be able to better understand who the best fit for us is. Good things can come out of difficult things."