A majority of council members in the exclusive 1,200-acre coastal town of Orchid accepted the resignations of the town manager and town clerk last week, after a month of bickering over town manager Debra Branwell’s recent performance in negotiating a garbage contract.
While the majority of council members (three) vouched for Branwell’s performance, two expressed doubts. And, even though one of the two asked her to stay at a meeting last week, Branwell remained firm in her decision to leave.
“After years of doing a good job, the lack of confidence stuck in Deb’s craw, and she felt burned out and ready to move on,” said a source close to the disagreement, who asked not to be named.
The dustup that led to Branwell’s resignation and that of Town Clerk Terri Wallace (who resigned in support of Branwell) appears to have begun at an early September council meeting when Councilman Bob Gibbons, according to the minutes, questioned why Branwell presented a garbage collection contract “with little time to spare and no options” right before council members had to vote on it.
Even though a resident in the audience reminded council members that Branwell had said months before that she was slowed in presenting bids because she was “having difficulty getting a response” from the holder of the current garbage collection contract, a second council member supported Gibbons’ concerns.
Councilman Ed Thrailkill also expressed dismay along with Gibbons over the limited garbage contract options. Then he said he thought the council should wait for more information before approving Branwell’s own contract as town manager for another year.
At a budget hearing a few days later, Gibbons asked to rescind the approval of the new garbage collection company contract because he had not had enough information, and the rest of the council voted with him to rescind the contract.
Thrailkill added that because of how the garbage bid process was handled, he “had lost confidence in the ability of the town manager to work with the council.” Gibbons said he wanted to see an evaluation by the mayor before approving Branwell’s contract for the coming fiscal year.
Former councilman Bud Oatway said there was a misunderstanding about the reason for the short time allotted to approve the now-rescinded garbage contract because the county had “agreed to piggy-back” the town on its own negotiations. The offer, said Oatway, came to the table late, forcing Branwell to present the contract at the last minute.
Branwell agreed to work without a contract until November, according to the minutes. But on Oct. 23, she sent a memo to the town council asking to be allowed to resign after nine years.
At a special call meeting on Oct. 27, Mayor Harold Ofstie called her “an excellent employee” and said that her last two performance evaluations were “excellent.” But, he said, the requests to delay extending her contract had created “uncertainty for her and a very difficult emotional time.”
“She concluded she cannot be effective and will help find a new manager and complete her duties,” said Ofstie.
At the Nov. 4 council meeting, Ofstie along with councilmen Ed Hughes and Harris Webber, praised Branwell’s performance. But Thrailkill reiterated that “the waste contract was not handled to my satisfaction and I am not in favor of extending her contract.”
Gibbons said that he agreed with Thrailkill that the waste contract “was not handled well.” But he told Branwell: “We need you; don’t leave us.”
Branwell responded: “I won’t reconsider. There are plenty of qualified people who will get you through.”
Gibbons then questioned whether Branwell, who insisted on resigning and “leaving us in the lurch,” should be given a severance package of about $22,000.
But ultimately the town council voted to approve the severance package, and Branwell said she would help in the search for a new town manager.
