Bluffdale compromises on city government

BLUFFDALE — A nearly four-hour meeting Wednesday on whether to change the city's form of government and check the powers of controversial Mayor Claudia Anderson ended with a temporary compromise reinstating the status quo — but not before residents by the dozens stood up to praise or condemn her.

In fact, the special meeting of the City Council, called in response to Anderson's placing city adminis- trative-services director Brent Bluth on paid leave, turned more into a referendum on the Anderson-Bluth fight than a debate on the merits of a strong mayor versus a city-manager system of government.

"Our administrative-services director Brent Bluth and I seem to have some tiffs," Anderson said at the start of Wednesday's meeting. Those "tiffs," she said, led her to place Bluth on leave last week. She then fired him a few days later — a fact the council didn't learn about until Wednesday.

Councilmen Bill Maxwell and Craig Briggs called the meeting to consider changing the form of government to one led by a city manager, which would reduce the role of mayor to head of the City Council rather than chief executive officer of the city. The meeting's agenda also called for a vote on hiring Bluth as city manager.

In the end, the council accepted a motion made by councilwoman Nancy Lord: The proposed changes were tabled to a later meeting so council members could have some time to process the public input and consider the possible consequences of changing the form of government.

In exchange, in response to Lord's concern about "the immediate crisis, that we need Brent back in his office doing his work," Anderson agreed to rescind her firing of Bluth until the form-of-government issues are worked out.

Maxwell cast the sole "no" vote on the compromise.

"This has been a longer process than most people are aware of," councilman Jesse Kelley said. "It's not something we came to on the spur of the moment."

He and the other council members all said they have spent the past several months trying to address what they called an ongoing problem: Anderson and many members of the staff just don't seem to get along. Since Anderson took office in January, at least 10 staff members have quit or been fired. Anderson replaced all but one of the planning commissioners and disbanded the city's arts council.

At Wednesday's meeting, Maxwell read a letter announcing city planner Glenn Goins' plans to resign later this month. The letter read, in part, "I've found great difficulty in establishing a cooperative working relationship with the mayor."

Maxwell called the high staff turnover "a trend that causes me a great amount of concern."

Most residents Wednesday spoke in favor of Anderson. Many said her style is gruff and aggressive — a take-charge form of leadership that doesn't always win friends but does get results.

Others, however, painted Anderson as stubborn and divisive.

The form-of-government issues will be taken up at the council's regular meeting Sept. 26.

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