Former Nevada city manager named interim manager at Cape Girardeau

A former Nevada city manager, Doug Leslie, is serving as interim city manager in Cape Girardeau until that city can find a full-time manager. Leslie has been serving as public works director for Cape Girardeau since leaving Nevada in 1990. Cape Girardeau Mayor Jay Knudtson and the city council fired the previous city manager, Michael Miller, last week, saying Miller failed to take a higher public profile the mayor and city council felt was necessary. Leslie has been interim city manager at Cape Girardeau before. In 1995 Leslie served three months before Miller was hired. Leslie was Nevada's city manager during the 1980s, a period that saw the city take over the water system from private hands and build a new reverse osmosis treatment facility. That led to several contentious city council sessions when a citizens group complained that the vote taken actually authorized a reservoir system and the council had acted improperly in building the reverse osmosis facility. Leslie is remembered fondly by those who worked with him in the past, including Parks and Recreation director Carol Branham and Police chief Larry Moore. "Doug was a nice guy. He was real good to work with, he communicated well with everyone," said Moore. Mayor Jay Knudtson said the council would search nationally for a new city manager, with hopes of filling the position in three to five months. Miller was the fourth top official forced out of city government in Cape Girardeau since voters elected Knudtson and three new council members in April 2002. Knudtson said he and the council were instrumental in sacking Fire Chief Michael Lackman, Convention and Visitors Bureau director Terri Clark-Bauer and city inspections director Tarryl Booker last year. "In each case, those individuals were asked to leave," Knudtson said. Searches for a new fire chief and a new human resources director will be deferred until a new city manager is hired, the mayor said. Miller has not talked publicly about his firing, which the council members agreed to in a 6-0 vote Thursday night. Knudtson said Friday that Miller left town on a scheduled trip. Miller will get $20,990 in severance pay, equal to three months of his $83,962 annual salary. The council raised Leslie's salary from $73,000 to $78,000 for taking on the extra duties. Knudtson said the council wants a city manager who will be "more involved in the community" and act more like the chief operating officer of a business, directing city government and reaching out to residents. Knudtson said the council does not want a bureaucrat quick to object to suggested solutions. The council may hire someone without professional city management experience but with strong leadership and public communication skills, the mayor said. Insisting that many residents don't trust local government, Knudtson said he hoped the personnel shakeup would bolster public confidence.

The Associated Press and Heidi Hall, managing editor of the Southeast Missourian, contributed to this report.