Maplewood ready to get back on track

The controversy over Maplewood's suspended city manager was put to rest this week, after the Maplewood City Council signed a settlement agreement with Greg Copeland.

The council will hold another meeting tonight to complete its first wave of business that the new council majority says will put Maplewood "back on the track to normalcy."

In a settlement reached last week and signed Monday, Copeland agreed not to pursue legal action against the council, which suspended him from his city manager job in January.

The council agreed to pay his salary, as well as health, dental and life insurance, through June 14, 2008 -- among other provisions.

"I think this chapter of Maplewood's history is closing," said City Council Member Will Rossbach.

Copeland was not available to comment. But his attorney, Daniel Warner, issued a statement saying: "Mr. Copeland's position is that he is pleased that a settlement was reached with the City and is appreciative of all those who have supported him through this period of transition."

The settlement paves the way for the City Council to move forward on other priorities that basically overturn city decisions made by the former council majority -- which shifted in January -- and Mayor Diana Longrie.

The council will consider the need for three management positions created in recent years -- public safety director, the business services director and the finance administration director, said council member John Nephew.

The people holding those jobs would not necessarily be dismissed, said Rossbach. But the council should look at whether the jobs need to be retooled to best address the city's needs and to avoid redundancy, he said.

"Do we need a public safety manager overseeing the fire chief and the police chief?" Rossbach asked. "For years we were fine just having a police chief and a fire chief."

The council also is expected to take up the need for new guidelines on which city officials write in the city newsletter, how often and on which subjects.

"There's been complaints that the newsletter got used for political purposes," said Nephew. "People thought it was unseemly, using taxpayer money for campaigning."

But Longrie said those changes aren't necessary. She said she hasn't received any complaints from Maplewood residents about problems the council seems to have with the newsletter. That includes her monthly column and City Council member columns deemed to be self-promoting. And she said she thinks City Council members should be writing regularly "so they (residents) know what their council members are doing."

Longrie charged that "the path we're going down" would hurt the citizens of Maplewood, and predicted that recent council actions -- including the approval of several road construction projects -- would ultimately lead to higher property taxes.