Update: Richland city manager is out. Council is moving in ‘a different direction’

In a move marked with tears and accusations, the Richland city manager is leaving her job in January.

Richland City Manager Cindy Reents’ last day is Jan. 22 after she and the council mutually agreed to end her employment after more than 17 years as a city employee. She’s been the city manager for 13 years.

The council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to allow Mayor Ryan Lukson to sign the separation agreement.

The terms of the agreement have not been finalized, officials said. That means the details aren’t public, but she will be receiving six-months pay in severance, plus another $7,500.

This year she earned slightly less than $193,000.

“While the council and Ms. Reents have mutually chosen to move in a different direction with this position, we recognize and thank her for her contributions to Richland,” Lukson said in a statement.

The discussion of Reents leaving has taken place over the past couple of weeks, Lukson told the Herald on Wednesday.

While Lukson, Councilwoman Sandra Kent and others called it a mutual decision, the lone dissenting voice, Councilman Phillip Lemley, said she was being fired because members of the council didn’t like her.

“You don’t fire the CEO of a corporation because you don’t like them,” he said during the public part of Tuesday’s meeting. “You don’t fire the CEO of a corporation because she doesn’t kiss the rings of the board members.”

Lemley believed people should know exactly what happened behind the council’s closed doors, but he is bound by the rules of executive sessions.

“I am not happy at all about what is happening here, and what is being done to our city manager,” Lemley said. “Our city is in the best shape it’s ever been and that says a lot. ... You don’t fire someone who is doing her job.”

Lukson called Lemley’s interpretation of what happened as “wholly inaccurate.”

“I think we will miss our city manager. However, we are pursuing a path in mutual agreement,” Kent said.

The city council has not made a final plan for recruiting for the soon-to-be-vacant city manager position.

It expects to announce an interim city manager in the coming weeks, it said.

Nearly two decades

Reents started in Richland in 2003 working as a city clerk, a parks and recreation director and an assistant manager.

She stepped into the top administrative job at the city in December 2007 after filling in for John Darrington when he retired in June. She was the seventh manager and was earning $131,000 before bonuses.

This year she earned slightly less than $193,000.

Her performance reviews are held in executive session, and don’t include a written record, City Attorney Heather Kintzley said.

“Together we overcame the Great Recession, restructuring of many departments and services, a 100-year blizzard, controversial community issues, public personal attacks and now we’re navigating through a pandemic,” Reents said as she read a prepared statement.

Despite those challenges, the city remains financially stable and has a thriving workforce, she said.

Lukson credited her leadership in the new Duportail Bridge, which opened Wednesday, the new Richland City Hall, the HAPO Community Stage, the new Fire Station 74 and regional dispatching services.

“I have worked alongside her in the city’s response to COVID-19 and appreciate her tenacity,” Lukson said. “The city is financially stable, and that is a remarkable feat in these trying times.”

Along with crediting her staff, Reents also said she was grateful for the collaborative relationships between the cities.

“While I am very sad that I am leaving this organization in a few short weeks, I am confident that I have laid the foundation for the remaining staff leadership to operate successfully,” she said as started to cry. “I love Richland. I love this staff, and I will continue to be an advocate and vocal champion for this community.”

While it remains unclear why the split is happening, the members of the council were complimentary of the outgoing manager during the meeting.

Councilman Bob Thompson, the former mayor, credited her leadership for getting the Duportail Bridge project finished.

“I’ve never been prouder of you for standing up to council and for the public on the bridge project,” he said. “That was a very difficult decision that council made and not all council members agreed on it.”

This story was originally published December 15, 2020 at 7:52 PM.