Oct. 9 was the last day of work for Palmer City Manager Stephen Jellie, who lasted just seven weeks. His resignation came at the end of a hastily called emergency meeting of the Palmer City Council, much of which was an executive session. His resignation was accepted unanimously.
Workers in the city, including the city attorney, had lodged numerous complaints about Jellie, who had alarmed the community and particularly the public safety community of police, dispatchers, and fire and rescue, when he suspended the police chief and demanded he turn in his badge.
The council heard from at least a dozen people in the community who shared their experiences and points of view about Jellie. The council chambers was standing-room only.
One man spoke, thanking the council for taking the matter seriously and “making it right,” something not always seen in government. Then he asked, “Can we have our chief back?”
Chief Dwayne Shelton had been with the force for 27 years. Mayor Steve Carrington responded that that item was not on the agenda of the emergency meeting.
Watch the public comment section of the meeting below:
Jellie will get six months severance pay, which was part of his contract when he was hired in August.
He had had a similar experience when he was the fire chief of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, as described in this news report from January.
“Eighty pages of newly released public comment allege that under the leadership of embattled Fire Chief Stephen Jellie, firefighters have been denied important training opportunities, rescue trucks have been sold to community detriment, and long-distance hospital transfers have been dangerously dialed back,” the news article states from January.