Prosser city manager is focus of internal investigation

​Prosser's city administrator was placed on paid leave Tuesday night. It's unclear why or when David Stockdale might return.

Howard Saxton, the city's contracted attorney, told the Herald an internal investigation is under way. He said it is not known how long that will take.

Stockdale will be paid for the length of the review. His salary this year is $117,600 plus about $44,000 in benefits, according to the city budget.

A one-sentence news release was sent by the city clerk to media outlets just before 9 p.m. Tuesday, saying Stockdale's leave was effective immediately.

Saxton said he couldn't comment on the reasons for the leave and would not say if the decision followed a closed-door executive session of the city council.

Stockdale was chosen as Prosser's city administrator in January 2016. He was working as an analyst in Oregon's Lane County when he was hired. It was his first job as a city administrator.

Prosser is a strong mayor form of government so Mayor Randy Taylor will continue overseeing city business. Taylor could not be reached Wednesday morning.

Prosser is about 35 miles west of the Tri-Cities and is the county seat for Benton County. It has about 5,900 residents.