Annapolis Capital Punishment

Our coverage of the city manager issue now turns to Mr. Mike Malinoff, Mayor Moyer's hand-picked head of the Department of Neighborhood and Environmental Protection (DNEP), which she seemed to have created specifically for him after he left his position as city manager of Newport, RI. We have made a number of posts about the city manager issue and have been reporting on current events in Newport, not only because it has many similarities to Annapolis, and has a city manager, but because of Mr. Malinoff, whom the mayor has pointed to as evidence of professionalism. (CP is indebted to Joe Baker of the Newport Daily News for his assistance in preparing this report)

A lawyer with experience in state government, he was hired as the city's first administrator by former alderman and Mayor Al Hopkins when Moyer served as alderwoman. He served for about six years in Newport, more than that of many mayors I will add. An article in the Newport Daily News on Jan 1, 2002 covered his departure. I have heavily excerpted the article for brevity:

Mallinoff, 44, will receive a lump-sum payment of $72,266, equal to nine months salary, and six months of health insurance benefits as a severance package. He was paid an annual salary of $96,354......A six-page press release prepared by Nicholson and Mallinoff's attorney, Stephen A. Haire, indicates that the new City Council sworn into office Jan. 2 had informed Mallinoff that it wanted to review the terms and conditions of his contract. As the parties were unable to agree upon terms, the City Council and city manager determined that it would be in their mutual best interest for Mr. Mallinoff to resign," it states…..

…But the city's financial health bounced back during Mallinoff's tenure. …
Mallinoff's ultimate vindication came last November, when Moody's Investor Service upgraded the city's bond rating for sale of general obligation bonds for the Thompson Middle School and Newport Public Library projects, allowing the city to benefit from lower interest rates........

During last year's election campaign, Mallinoff lost key supporters when council members Dennis F. McCoy and Joseph P. Pratt chose not to seek re-election. The new council was elected to a three-year term because of a charter change to make city elections, which had occurred in odd years, coincide with state elections starting in 2004.
(ANNAPOLIS—take note of that last sentence!!!)

Many council members and residents criticized the city administration for an audit that was released 10 months late and long after it could have served as a tool in budget preparation. While the audit cited the city's healthy cash surplus, it also found significant deficiencies in the internal reporting procedures in the Finance Department. Last December, Finance Director Frances H. Shocket resigned, and the city is in the process of finding her replacement.

What this clearly shows is how the city council, which elects the mayor does indeed represent the people to run Newport and by their actions, controls those of the city administrator. In part two, which will be published tomorrow, we will go into further detail.


Please send comments, subscribe, share with your friends, and support our sponsors. Join us at Ahh Coffee! in Eastport almost every Thursday from 8-9 am.