Ellsworth City Manager Glenn Moshier has decided not to seek renewal of his contract when it expires in January 2024.
Moshier plans to stay on as the city’s police chief, a position he has held since early 2017.
“This was a decision which I have been contemplating for some time,” Moshier said Wednesday, adding that stepping down from one of his two roles is best for himself and the city.
“I am excited to return full-time to the Ellsworth Police Department as the chief of police and will still be a major contributor to the future of the City of Ellsworth,” he said.
His expires on Jan. 16, 2024, he said. Moshier plans to continue serving as both city manager and police chief until then.
Moshier’s decision brings to an end a debate that has persisted in Ellsworth since he was hired as city manager in January 2021 and allowed to retain his position as police chief. The two positions had previously been separate for at least the past several decades — if not for as long as both have existed in the city — and critics said they should remain separate.
Moshier began filling in as interim city manager after his predecessor, David Cole, retired during the height of the COVID pandemic in 2020. The city had difficulty attracting candidates, likely because of the pandemic, and the council decided to ask Moshier to apply for the job on a long-term basis.
Moshier did so on the condition that he could continue serving as police chief too.
At the outset, several residents criticized the decision to allow Moshier to hold both roles, and the question of whether he should continue in both positions has become an annual question posed to city council candidates. Since Moshier was hired as city manager, five new councilors have been elected to the seven-seat panel.
Dale Hamilton, chairman of the city council, said he thinks that Moshier has done a “phenomenal” job holding both positions, but he understands Moshier’s reasoning for planning to step down as city manager. The debate about combining the two jobs just wouldn’t go away, he said.
“There hasn’t been full agreement about his dual role,” Hamilton said. “It’s a constant area of discussion. It finds its way into everything.”
Hamilton said he didn’t have a problem with Moshier serving as both city manager and police chief, but acknowledged that having Moshier continue only as police chief might be best for Ellsworth.
Hamilton said the council won’t decide until its August meeting to advertise the position or whether to hire a consultant to help with the search. He said it might take a while to find a new city manager.
“It’s not likely we’ll find anybody quick,” Hamilton said.
