In one fell swoop within a matter of months of taking office, Ketchum Mayor Randy Hall's administration has run up a bigger, more mysterious payout to settle a personnel matter than his predecessor, Mayor Ed Simon.
Simon was properly criticized for impetuous personnel decisions that cost the city (and its insurer) thousands of dollars, and probably added to Simon's defeat at the polls.
Now, taxpayers are left wondering why the $100,000 payout to Ketchum Fire Chief Greg Schwab and about the mystery of his abrupt, sudden and certainly surprising resignation.
Taxpayers deserve better. Not often is a high city official literally stripped of his duties, as was Chief Schwab, and "placed on administrative leave with full benefits" while "no longer exercising the responsibilities and duties" of fire chief.
Did this involve a personality conflict between Schwab and the mayor, who last year was embroiled in a dispute over his dual roles as city councilman and firefighter?
Or some breach by the fire chief of his responsibilities?
Rather than using the statute allowing personnel matters to be shrouded in secrecy, Mayor Hall should provide an explanation to justify the $100,000 buyout that would also remove any doubts about Chief Schwab's performance and give taxpayers some credible understanding of the sudden resignation.
The $100,000 would buy a lot of city sidewalks and streetlights. And peeling off $100,000 at a time when City Hall says it's strapped for funds isn't easily understood.
Besides, unexpected changes in City Hall without better explanations can have an unsettling effect on a community.
