Months after firing its city manager and dismissing a fellow city councilor, the Eastport City Council has filled those positions along with another vacant city councilor seat on an interim basis.
George “Bud” Finch, who served as Eastport’s city manager from 1995 to 2010, will fill his old job temporarily while the city conducts a search for a new city manager. Finch began his latest stint as interim manager in early June, said William Boone, president of the City Council.
Meanwhile, Colleen Dana-Cummings was appointed in April to fill the council seat that previously was held by Ross Lawrence. Lawrence was removed by a council vote in March.
The two removals continue a years-long cycle of unrest and turnover in Eastport.
Boone declined to comment about why the council decided to remove Lawrence from the council. Lawrence and other members of the board were accused by residents of violating the city’s written code of conduct for city councilors for a variety of offenses, according to minutes of a Feb. 22 special council meeting. It’s unclear which one led to Lawrence’s dismissal.
Eastport’s previous city manager, Kate Devonshire, was fired on May 10, a little more than a year after she started. Eastport officials have not publicly said why they fired Devonshire.
Devonshire was the sixth person to serve as Eastport’s city manager since Finch left in 2010. She replaced Thomas Hoskins II, who was also fired after serving as Eastport’s city manager for a year.
Although Finch has been living in Florida, he has agreed to fill in as interim city manager indefinitely, Boone said. His tenure will continue on a month-to-month basis, he said
The city hasn’t yet started its search for a new city manager, but the City Council has discussed updating the position’s job description and what process the city wants to follow in finding a new city manager, he said.
‘We’ve talked about job descriptions and placing ads,” Boone said.
The council also temporarily filled a seat vacated when former councilor David Oja abruptly resigned the same day Devonshire was fired. David Morang, who previously served on the council, has been appointed by other members to finish the remainder of the term vacated by Oja, Boone said.
Oja’s term was due to expire on Dec. 31, 2023. Elections will be held in November to elect two new councilors to the seats formerly held by Oja and Lawrence, Boone said.