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Macomb City Administrator Suddenly Steps Down

Macomb City Hall
Rich Egger
Macomb City Hall

Macomb’s City Administrator Sue McLaughlin attended Monday night’s City Council meeting this week. But as of Tuesday, she was no longer on the city’s payroll.

McLaughlin stepped down after less than 8 months on the job.

UPDATE: The Macomb City Council approves the separation agreement with McLaughlin.

Mayor Mike Inman declined to elaborate on the reasons behind her departure, except that it was negotiated and is of mutual benefit for her and the city. 

“I think the city moves forward in a direction we are more comfortable with and Ms. McLaughlin moves forward in a direction she wants to move,” Inman said.

Inman said her departure was not due to any unethical behavior.

McLaughlin did similarly short stints at her previous two employers. According to McLaughlin’s LinkedIn page, she worked for county government in Bureau County, Illinois for about 7 months and also for the City of Bloomington, Illinois for about 7 months. It’s unclear whether those positions were intended to be on an interim basis and McLaughlin has since deleted the employment background section on her LinkedIn page.  

In February, McLaughlin replaced former Macomb City Administrator Dean Torreson who retired after 8 years in Macomb. She signed a three year contract with the city with an annual salary of $97,500.

McLaughlin is waiving her right to 30 days notice of termination of her contract agreement with the city. On Monday, the City Council will discuss the terms of her departure including severance pay.

The City Administrator oversees day to day city operations, serves as the chief financial officer and advises city departments. Mayor Inman said he, the city attorney and other staff will take over those responsibilities for the time being.

“We believe in the interim, we can deal with those issues. We have a great business office staff that does the nuts and bolts everyday on a daily basis of the finances of the city,” Inman said.

Inman said he hopes to get someone in working on an interim basis soon and have a new city administrator hired within a couple months.

Macomb is just about half way through its fiscal year.

Inman said planning for next fiscal year’s budget won’t start for another 60-90 days when the city requests department heads formulate spending and revenue projections for next year. The mayor said that work can go on without a city administrator.

He said traditionally, those requests would start being reviewed by the City Administrator and city council members in January.

Emily Boyer is a former reporter at Tri States Public Radio.