Note: This story has been updated to reflect tonight’s agenda item to discuss Smith’s employment was added by administration/legal counsel, and not council members.
Galesburg may decide to part ways with its city manager as soon as Monday, when the City Council is expected to discuss a proposed separation agreement with Gerald Smith.
A special meeting of the Galesburg City Council on Monday includes an agenda item that reads: Discussion and potential action related to the appointment, employment or removal of the City Manager. The meeting is at 5:30 p.m. Monday at Galesburg City Hall.
Galesburg Mayor Peter Schwartzman tells WGIL the city’s legal counsel and Smith are negotiating a separation agreement.
“About two weeks ago Mr. Smith went on leave,” Schwartzman said. “So afterwards, he informed the city his desire to part ways with the city. As I said in an email that I send out to community members that request it, Mr. Smith had received unprecedented scrutiny since taking the position in November 2022.
“I suspect that recent events, occurring at and in relation to City Council meetings/agendas, including accusations made by sitting Council members, have convinced Mr. Smith that he is no longer operating in a healthy work environment. I hope the Council will find an amicable resolution to this unfortunate set of circumstances.”
It marks the second time in less than 30 days that the City Council is scheduled to discuss Smith’s employment status. Four City Council members — Heather Acerra, Wayne Dennis, Bradley Hix and Evan Miller — called a special meeting for May 15 to discuss the “employment or possible removal” of City Manager Gerald Smith.
Without discussion, however, the agenda item to discuss Smith’s employment was removed from the May 15 agenda shortly before the meeting.
Tonight’s agenda item to discuss Smith’s employment was added by administration/legal counsel, and not council members.
On May 26, Smith submitted notice of temporary leave effective May 30 and appointed Community Development Director Steve Gugliotta to serve as the Acting City Manager during his absence. At the time, Schwartzman said since “legal matters” were involved, he could not comment on the reason for Smith’s temporary leave.
Smith last worked at City Hall on May 22.
Smith was approved as Galesburg’s eighth city manager by a 4-3 vote on Sept. 26, 2022. The total salary and benefit package offered to Smith was about $171,000. Hix, Cox and then Seventh Ward alderman Larry Cox voted against the contract.
Smith started as Galesburg city manager on Nov. 7.
In his resume submitted to the city and obtained by WGIL through a Freedom of Information Act request, Smith lists that he was an “Experienced professional City Manager with more than 25 years of municipal experience in working in communities with populations from 5,000-460,000, with 60 – 6,000 employees, and in communities with all funds budgets ranging up to $1.6 billion.”
Before coming to Galesburg, Smith served as city manager in Creedmoor, North Carolina, (population 4,800) from March 2021 to May 27, 2022.
According to minutes from the May 27, 2022, special session of the Creedmoor Board of Commissioners, the commissioners there voted 4-1 to accept a buyout agreement of Smith’s contract on that same date. The Butner-Creedmoor News of Creedmoor, North Carolina, reports the city of Creedmoor would pay $95,412.33 to buy out Smith’s contract. It further noted Smith informed the board in the summer of 2021 that he would be pursuing other employment in the Midwest because of a family issue. Smith confirmed in his cover letter to the city of Galesburg that he had left Creedmoor in an effort to relocate back to the Midwest region of the country due to an health issue in his family.
Smith also has served as city manager in Maquoketa, Iowa (population 6,000) from 2017-21 and in Junction City, Kansas (population 25,800) from 2013-14.
From 2006-12, Smith was director of General Services for the City of Kansas City, Missouri (population 460,000).
Smith’s other employment history, according to his resume, includes: assistant city manager in Upper Arlington, Ohio (population 35,300) from 2003-05; municipal management consultant for Principle from 2001-03; village administrator in the Village of Riverdale, Illinois (population 15,000) from 1999-2001; city administrator for the City of North Chicago, Illinois (population 42,500) from 1997-98; and assistant to the village manager for the Village of Deerfield, Illinois (population 18,500) from 1991-97.
