Less than three weeks shy of would have been his second anniversary on the job, Richard Warne is out as City Manager of Twentynine Palms. While a City press release issued yesterday refers to Warne’s “retirement,” there is evidence that it wasn’t a voluntary decision on his part. Reporter Dan Stork explains…
A terse media release received yesterday began by saying, “The City of Twentynine Palms has announced the retirement of City Manager Richard N. Warne, effective today, April 15, 2013.” It added, “Mayor Joel Klink has announced that Homer Croy will take over as Interim City Manager this week. Croy is the retired city manager for the City of Palm Desert.” The fact that an interim replacement was in place so quickly suggests strongly that Warne’s departure was decided upon last week. In fact, sources at City Hall told Z107.7 that the City Council terminated Warne during a late closed session following adjournment of last Tuesday’s open meeting, and that Warne took “vacation days” for the remainder of the week. Warne will reportedly be receiving one year’s compensation, amounting to about $250,000 including benefits. This accords with the terms of his contract with the city, in the event of termination for other than a criminal offense. In recent events, Warne has drawn criticism from various quarters for the tone of a presentation he prepared on City options with regard to the Fire Department, on giving a two-week heads-up to the Twentynine Palms Ministerial Association on a potential discussion of prayer before council meetings, and the handling of financial support for a mural project. It is not known what specific issues entered into the Council’s action. Mayor Joel Klink has called a special meeting of the City Council for 4:30 pm this afternoon, with a two-item closed session agenda: Public Employment – City Manager, and a conference on one case of potential litigation.
TWENTYNINE PALMS CITY MANAGER FIRED, NOT RETIRED
