Moline City Administrator Doug Maxeiner is off the job. Mayor Stephanie Acri announced Tuesday night in a press release that Maxeiner has left the employment of the city, effective immediately. No reason was given in the release.
WVIK contacted Acri about the abrupt announcement, but she did not provide any explanation for Maxeiner's departure.
Acri said it was a "mutual and amicable" separation agreed upon by Maxeiner and the Moline City Council.
In an interview with WVIK, council member Dick Potter agreed the separation was mutual, but not amicable. Potter said Maxeiner's departure was "the culmination of a near-poisonous atmosphere of disrespect" between senior city staff and council members, rife with micromanagement of the council by city staff.
WVIK also spoke with council member Sonia Berg, who did not provide an explanation for Maxeiner's departure.
WVIK called all eight members of the Moline City Council. Potter and Berg were the only ones who answered or called back. WVIK also attempted to contact Maxeiner, but he could not be reached.
In Moline, the city administrator oversees the daily operations of all city government activities, provides management support for city department directors, implements city council legislation, and informs the mayor and city council of critical information.
Maxeiner is quoted in the release as saying that he is "grateful for the opportunity in Moline and will miss the daily interaction and professional relationships he has built with the City of Moline staff and elected officials, governmental and non-profit partners, and the residents of Moline."
Moline Public Works Director J.D. Schulte will serve as the Interim City Administrator until a permanent successor is appointed. Acri says the search for a new administrator is expected to start soon.
Maxeiner was appointed as Moline’s City Administrator in May 2017. He has more than 25 years of experience in municipal government. Prior to his time in Moline, Maxeiner was the village administrator of three towns northwest of Chicago: Wauconda, Hampshire, and McHenry. He has also worked several support staff positions with the city of Rockford, Ill.
In the release, Acri thanked Maxeiner for his service to the city and said that she and the members of the city council wish him well in his future.