Ogdensburg appoints interim manager
Jun. 7—OGDENSBURG — At a special meeting Wednesday night, Ogdensburg City Council accepted the resignation of Mohideen F. Buharie as its city manager and appointed Planning Director Andrea L. Smith to the position in the interim.
The special meeting began with an executive session that lasted roughly 20 minutes and was attended by Ms. Smith. After councilors came out of the executive session, two resolutions were voted on and passed by City Council. Absent was Councilor Nichole L. Kennedy.
The first was the acceptance of the resignation of Mr. Buharie, who is leaving his post after just three months as city manager, as well as an employment buyout agreement between him and the city. Mr. Buharie had signed a three-year contract for $128,000 a year. He began work on March 1 and his last day was Tuesday.
Mr. Buharie stated Monday that his resignation was meant to go into effect on July 28 but a meeting with Mayor Jeffrey M. Skelly that same day pushed his end date to Tuesday after a decision was made by the majority council consisting of Mr. Skelly and Councilors Steven M. Fisher, William B. Dillabough and John A. Rishe.
While council accepted the resignation, Councilor Michael B. Powers voiced concern over the way the resignation was handled.
"I'm in support of the resolution of his resignation," Mr. Powers said, "just not in favor of the way it was processed and put out without recognizing nothing was approved until this vote was to be done and the information he received from alleged consensus of council prior to any vote and having no prior information to share with members of the public."
Mr. Skelly responded quickly.
"Mike, were you going to do the work from Albany and I believe you were called by staff about the executive session and the purpose of executive session. I do believe that the lawyer (City Attorney Scott Goldie) had to put the agreement together and the city manager had to sign it first before we could do this resolution," replied Mr. Skelly.
While Mr. Powers "recognized" the process, he was still concerned about the lack of information and the consensus of majority council to relieve Mr. Buharie of his duties Wednesday.
Speaking about communication, Mr. Skelly said that neither Mr. Powers nor Councilor Daniel E. Skamperle had called him during his tenure as mayor.
"Neither one of you guys have called me in four years," said Mr. Skelly.
"And neither have you, Mike," replied Mr. Powers, who added "quite frankly, I could care less."
Councilor Rishe said that members of the council should not be discussing personal matters in the media outside of executive session. Councilors Powers and Kennedy had voiced their displeasure in a previous report on Mr. Buharie's removal as city manager.
"Yes, that was very irresponsible," stated Mr. Skelly.
After that vote, which was unanimous, a resolution was brought forth naming Ms. Smith as interim city manager. She would be the interim effective June 7 to Jan. 8, 2024 and she would receive a stipend of $9,000 a month of top of her normal pay as planning director.
This is not the first time Ms. Smith, who has been the planning director since 2013, has been named interim city manager.
Last fall, she took over the role when Stephen P. Jellie left to take a Fire/EMS position in Jackson Hole, Wyoming. She was the interim city manager until Mr. Buharie began his duties on March 1.
"I just want to thank Andrea for stepping in and helping our city during another hard time. But we all know you help every day, every day in the planning department, and you made a big difference," said Mr. Skelly.
