The City of Rockville has fired City Manager Barbara Matthews.
The city announced Monday morning that Matthews, who as city manager ran the city’s day-to-day operations and prepared its budgets, “will no longer serve” in the role.
The Montgomery County Sentinel reported the city council decided to fire her over the course of three closed executive sessions, the last of which came Friday at 5 p.m.
City spokesperson Marylou Berg confirmed Matthews’ last day was Friday and that under the terms of her contract, she’ll be paid a lump sum of $105,590, half of her annual salary.
A source told Bethesda Beat that Mayor Bridget Donnell Newton, who also serves on the five-member council, was among the three council members who no longer supported Matthews as city manager. Newton, who was set to be in Annapolis on Monday afternoon on city business, couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
The source said council members Virginia Onley and Beryl Feinberg also voted against Matthews continuing as city manager. When reached for comment Monday, Feinberg said she couldn’t discuss what happened at the closed executive session.
“There’s really not much that can be discussed publicly,” Feinberg said. She would not confirm that she voted to fire Matthews. “It’s very awkward, but the details of the discussion really are privileged and confidential.”
Council member Julie Palakovich Carr, who along with Mark Pierzchala was said to still support Matthews, told Bethesda Beat in an email that “Ms. Matthews was a terrific city manager and I had looked forward to her serving the city for a long time.”
The city of about 65,000 people is run under a council-manager form of government. It is the second-oldest municipality in the county and has the largest population of any county municipality. It also serves as the county government’s seat.
As city manager, Matthews was responsible for preparing an annual budget for the council’s review, as well as for recruiting and hiring city government staff members. She also served as the council’s chief adviser.
The city hired Matthews in October 2012 from Takoma Park, where she had previously served as city manager.
Her first contract, set to run through Oct. 2, 2015, was extended by the council last September to run through Oct. 2.
The city said Craig Simoneau, the city’s director of public works, took over Monday as acting city manager. The council is expected to approve a resolution naming him to the temporary position during its Monday meeting. The city said it would immediately begin a national search for a new city manager.
By Monday morning, the city had replaced Matthews’ biography on its website with information on Simoneau’s background.
Feinberg said the city manager’s role is vital because “it’s like the CEO,” and that she anticipates the city will convene a panel of residents to give feedback on who should be the city’s next manager.
