In fast-growing Shakopee, tension between old and new has come to a head with the exit of city Administrator Mark McNeill, who was asked to resign earlier this month after nearly 20 years in the job.

The move has divided the City Council: Members who supported McNeill's resignation say it was the best choice for the city's future, while those who opposed it contend that the decision was made hastily and without much discussion.

"When you look at our council, you see the two different dynamics of Shakopee. You see the old guard mentality, and you see some of the new stuff," said Council Member Jay Whiting.

Whiting was one of three votes in favor of McNeill's resignation at a council meeting Tuesday. The decision came after nearly an hour of impassioned public comment, with community members, former city leaders and even the county attorney turning out to voice their support for McNeill and question the rationale behind pushing him out.

"I have a big question, and the question is: Are we doing the right thing?" former Mayor Gary Laurent asked at Tuesday's meeting. "And I think we really need to look at that hard. Because we're talking about a human being. We're talking about somebody who's dedicated a good part of their professional career to us."

City administrators are appointed by the councils they serve and are responsible for overseeing day-to-day city operations. In 2014, McNeill's salary was $131,064. His last day was Tuesday; he received a severance package including six months' salary plus his remaining vacation time and a portion of his sick time.

The possibility of asking for his resignation first came up Dec. 1, when Mayor Brad Tabke and Council Member Kathi Mocol approached McNeill to talk about his upcoming performance review.

The other three council members said they didn't learn that McNeill might be asked to resign until after his meeting with Tabke and Mocol.

"One of the things as the city administrator is that you try to keep all the council up to speed on things," McNeill said. "But if, as the administrator, you're not aware of these things, it's tough for me to do that."

Council member Matt Lehman, a vocal opponent of asking McNeill to resign, said he was shocked by the news.

"We didn't see this coming. It was done really rapidly," he said. "There was no serious discussion about any of this."

Tabke said he didn't tell the rest of the council in order to avoid violating the open meeting law.

"I very intentionally did not inform any of the other three council members as to the fact that we would be doing that," he said.

On Dec. 2, the majority of council members decided in a closed session to formally ask for McNeill's resignation. Closed session proceedings are confidential. Council members can't vote or take any other official actions — they can only have discussions.

"This was not a consensus before that meeting," Mocol said. "We had no idea what would happen in the closed session."

Assistant city administrator Kris Wilson will take McNeill's position until a permanent replacement is found.

'A new vision'

During his 18 years as city administrator, there were no complaints or investigations regarding McNeill's job performance.

"I do want to emphasize that Mr. McNeill has done absolutely nothing illegal, unethical or immoral," Tabke said at Tuesday's meeting. "It is that the majority of the City Council, including myself, simply feel that we want to take the city in a different direction and as such want to change who serves as the city administrator."

Whiting said that although he didn't officially learn of the resignation request until Dec. 1, "in my mind, it had been thought about for years."

The city has tripled in size since McNeill first took the job. The attitude toward that growth has evolved since Tabke took office in 2012, after introducing the idea of "a new vision" during his campaign. In the past few years, a lot of attention has been paid to attracting and supporting newcomers, whether in the form of new businesses or new immigrant communities.

"We've grown to a size where the person in charge of the administration needs to have the leadership and management skills to really push," Tabke said, "and to manage an organization as large as we are."

Emma Nelson • 952-746-3287