Smiling all the way to the bank

Former McHenry City Administrator Doug Maxeiner ought to be smiling all the way to the bank for the next six months. It looks like he played the system just right. According to this morning's Northwest Herald, the residents of McHenry will be paying him $10,000/month plus his family's health insurance for the next six months.

From the article: "(Mayor Sue) Low said she and Maxeiner spoke on July 12, and they mutually decided he should leave." I don't remember seeing that mentioned in the article on Wednesday, when it appeared Maxeiner had just walked off the job. Somebody in City government told a reporter that Maxeiner's letter of resignation was expected.

Maxeiner probably read his employment contract a whole lot more closely than government officials. The City Council met in executive session last Tuesday, presumably with the City Attorney present, and then they danced to and fro with their words, not really explaining what was happening. "Trust us," they seemed to be saying.

Hello? Does transparency in government exist in the City of McHenry?

Again, from today's paper: "I'm not speculating on what people will think," Mayor Sue Low said in response to a question about how taxpayers might react. "It is what it is." I predict she won't have to speculate very long; the People will let her know.

Lately, I've heard "It is what it is" often enough that I'm about ready to barf. That phrase is dismissive of responsibility, and it should be barred from government-speak.

Low said that Maxeiner "was offered the opportunity to resign. He didn't do it." Why, golly-gee. How could he pass up such an "opportunity"?