Split Louisville council votes to hire ex-city manager to oversee economic development

LOUISVILLE – City council members say Tom Pukys was not suited to being city manager.

But they won't say exactly what happened that led to him no longer leading the city administration.

On Monday, a divided City Council voted 3-2 to approve a contract to hire Pukys as an independent contractor to be the city's economic development director for $131,200 a year.

Pukys as city manager earned $122,200 a year, plus a $3,000 car allowance and $6,000 health insurance waiver, totaling $131,200.

The vote took place after council met in executive session for 48 minutes to discuss employment of a public official and pending litigation.

Council did not have the necessary four votes for the measure to pass an an emergency Monday or on July 17. But with the approval of a bare majority on the second reading Monday, it will take effect in 30 days.

Louisville council members explain their votes

Council members Joanie Aljancic, Dick Slackford and Corey Street voted to approve the consultant contract. Mayor Pat Fallot and council member Jim Taylor voted against the measure.

Aljancic mentioned Pukys' prior roles as president of the Alliance Area Development Foundation and president of the Wayne Economic Development Council in Wooster.

"I've seen what he's done in Alliance. And I've seen what he's done in Wayne County," she said. "And I know the things that he's got going on right now in the city (of Louisville) that he's not allowed to talk about."

Slackford said, "He wasn't as good at city managing that we wanted him to be. ... We were expecting the staff to be able to help him with the shortcomings. But that didn't work out. So the city will benefit more from him as economic development (director) because of his past experience and skills in doing that."

Fallot said Pukys was very qualified to be an economic development director.

"My issue is the amount of money he wants to be paid," she said, later indicating she had argued to other council members in executive session that the high contract cost set a precedent for future hires. "First of all, it's not a full-time job. ... I have checked around with area communities to see what their economic development directors are getting paid. And it's not near the $131,000. And they do other jobs other than economic development."

But as to why it didn't work out for Pukys as the city manager, Fallot said, "When you have somebody that does not have the government background, they think that things should move faster. And government doesn't move faster."

Ray Hexamer: 'I couldn't think of someone who's more qualified than Tom.'

Former City Manager Tom Ault in a statement to council questioned whether hiring Pukys as a contractor was the most cost effective move, whether it was ethical and whether council had considered other options.

At least six people in the audience of about 70 spoke in support of hiring Pukyas as an economic development consultant.

"In my opinion if I was consulting you on what is needed in Louisville to attract businesses and keep your businesses here I would suggest you put somebody in charge of economic development and I couldn't think of someone who's more qualified than Tom," said Ray Hexamer, president of the Stark Economic Development Board.

Ryan Klingelhofer, the CEO of Alliance Crane and Rigging in Louisville, said, "Where am I going to get my best bang for my buck? That is with Tom. I mean he unequivocally champions for this city. And it's with a passion like I'm not seeing from anybody else."

Kathy Pugh of Louisville, one of at least three at the meeting who questioned the contract, said council had not been transparent about the circumstances of Pukys changing roles.

"Please consider that this is a large salary at taxpayer's expense," Pugh said.

Council members won't say why Tom Pukys is no longer city manager

When asked why he voted to approve the contract, Street cited Pukys' economic development experience.

"Drive down State Street (in Alliance). And also what he was able to do if you've been in downtown Wooster. It's beautiful. I hope we can do a fraction that he did in Alliance and Wooster here in Louisville and keep the ball rolling in the right direction," said Street.

When asked what happened to end Pukys' tenure as city manager, Street paused for 10 seconds.

"I have no comment on that at this time," he said.

Aljancic and Slackford also declined to give the exact reasons.

The council clerk's office in an email told Pugh that Pukys was last seen working as city manager at City Hall on June 16 and that he had removed his possessions from the city manager's office on June 19.

Slackford said about Pukys leaving City Hall, "that was recommended by his lawyer or by our law director (Robert Duffrin before Duffrin resigned July 31 for another job). Just avoiding the conflict until we got this thing resolved."

Pukys submitted a letter of resignation to Fallot dated June 30. But it did not say the resignation was effective immediately or on June 30. Council tried to approve the consulting contract as an emergency measure on July 17 but lacked the four votes required to bypass a required second reading.

"Our former law director (Duffrin) informed us that (Pukys) was no longer the city manager as of June 30," said Fallot, who added that Duffrin resigned as law director effective July 31 for a job with the Stark County prosecutor.

Related: 'It’s challenging to wear both hats' Louisville to split city manager and development role

Pukys' resignation letter said, "I am writing to inform you of my intention to resign from my position as City Manager at the City of Louisville upon the approved contract to oversee the economic development activities of the City. This resignation will be effective immediately upon the finalized agreement."

The city charter says the assistant city manager, which is City Police Chief Andrew Turowski, may serve as the city director during the temporary absence of the city manager. If there's a vacancy, council can appoint an interim city manager, which council has apparently not done, according to council's meeting minutes.

The ordinance council passed Monday authorizes the acting city manager, which is Turowski, to finalize a contract with his former boss Pukys as a contractor.

Pukys was hired as city manager in December 2021 under the three-year contract. His contract entitled him to up to four months of severance pay if council fired him.

Street said council looked at hiring Pukys as a city employee to be economic development director. But Street said the city saves money if Pukys is an independent contractor. The city wouldn't have to make contributions to the Ohio Public Employment Retirement System on his behalf.

Tom Pukys says he's a better fit as economic development director

Pukys who attended the council meeting Monday said being the city's economic development director played more to his strengths.

"It's a better fit for the community," he said. "The city's going to save a lot of money (not paying the PERS). ... It's good for the community."

When asked what led to him no longer being city manager, Pukys, who did not give specifics, said some of the duties of being city manager were "taking away time and effort from economic development. ... It's a lot of moving parts."

Street said Duffrin drafted the terms of the contract to hire Pukys as a contractor.

Turowski said, "We're looking forward to moving forward. We're looking forward to getting Tom into the right position. The economic development position. We're looking forward to a search for a new city manager."

Reach Robert at robert.wang@cantonrep.com.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Louisville hires Tom Pukys as economic development director