The Ludlow City Council officially voted down the appointment of Chris Courtney to the position of city administrator at their meeting last week in a 3-to-1 vote against Mayor Sarah Thompson’s recommendation.
Council Member David Ziegler was the only council member to vote in Courtney’s favor.
“This is the last time that I will bring this resolution up,” said Thompson. “I do need a city administrator; I am the only mayor thus far that’s had to go without a city administrator.”
Courtney currently serves as the associate director for local government services for the Northern Kentucky Area Development District, and Thursday’s meeting was the second time the mayor had attempted to appoint him. Under Ludlow’s mayor-council government, the mayor can appoint a city administrative officer to run the day-to-day operations of the city, but the city council must either approve or reject the appointment with a majority vote.
Ludlow’s previous City Administrator, Scott Smith, resigned in March. Smith now works as the city administrator in Walton. After Smith’s departure, Thompson began the process of seeking a replacement and first called for Courtney’s appointment at the meeting on April 9. Council Member Stephen Chapman made the motion to appoint, but it died for lack of a second.
Discussions at a subsequent meeting revealed some council members had felt cut out of the recruiting process. Thompson insisted that finding and appointing a city administrator was exclusively the purview of the mayor’s office, per standards established in Kentucky law.
“I know some aren’t happy with how it’s been handled, and that’s your right to feel that way,” Ziegler said on Thursday. “This city is in desperate need of a city administrator now, and we need to put some of our differences aside on this and bring someone on.”
Chapman had changed his tune on the administrator’s position, now arguing that appointing one was unnecessary.
“After reflecting on that for the last couple months, I think the city with the departments’ heads are running quite well,” Chapman said. “They know their job, they take their job seriously and, like any other employee, you do need some direction, but I think the mayor does a good job as far as keeping up with the projects and making sure things are being done.”
Chapman believed the city could revisit an appointment early next year.
Discussion ensued about whether an administrative officer was necessary to run the city. Neither mayors nor council members are full-time positions. Ludlow’s mayors make $2,400 per year by law for carrying out their duties. City administrators, on the other hand, tend to work full time.
“I just think it’s a lot to ask of the mayor to pile all this on her,” Ziegler said.
Sarah Thompson’s husband, Aaron Thompson, even spoke briefly about the need for someone to take on the role of heading up economic development.
“Our department heads are very good, and I understand that, but there’s economic development that needs to go on in this city, right…?” Aaron Thompson said. “That shouldn’t be on our mayor, that’s part time, right, to make sure that that stuff gets done.”
“I think with the help of the council–,” Chapman said.
“But council is not supposed to step into that role,” Sarah Thompson said. “That’s actually against [state law].”
City Attorney Michelle Eviston affirmed this.
“Council, you have to act here [in a public meeting] as a whole,” Eviston said. “I think there are limits to what you can do to help day-to-day.”
After some more discussion, Chapman seconded Ziegler’s motion. Chapman and Council Members Meagan Guthrie and Paula Graszus all voted against Courtney’s appointment. Council Members Abigail Miller and Julie Terry Navarre did not attend the meeting.
