City Administrator Fired

By Gordon HopkinsFairbury’s newly minted city administrator, Jacob Matthews, was let go after just 57 days on the job. The announcement came Friday, September 9, from Fairbury Mayor Spencer Brown, who provided no additional details at the time.On Monday, Mayor Brown issued a statement, “Upon review and careful consideration, I found the city needed a change in the day-to-day leadership role to execute the tremendous amount of improvements the city is currently undertaking at a rapid pace. The position of a city administrator is very dynamic and requires detailed engagement across all departments to be successful. Current city staff is dedicated to keeping things moving in the right direction until a suitable candidate is found.”The Mayor added, “I appreciate the support of city staff, the city council and most importantly, the citizens of Fairbury as we transition and keep Fairbury moving forward.”Matthews replaced the prior city administrator, Robert Messbarger, who announced his intention to resign after holding the job for less than one year. Messbarger, in turn, replaced Mary Renn, who left the position of administrator but remains in the employ of the city as a project manager.In additional to his role as administrator, Matthews was recently tapped to join the board of the Little Blue Valley Water Systems’ (LBVWS). A replacement for that role will also need to be found. The purpose of the Water Sourcing Project is to locate a new, lower-nitrate water source for both the Little Blue NRD (Natural Resources District) and the City of Fairbury. There are supposed to be four board members in that entity; two of them representing the City of Fairbury and two of them representing Little Blue NRD. The other board members are: Scott Nelson, General Manager – Little Blue NRD; Kevin Orvis, Project Manager – Little Blue NRD; and Erin Reimer, Fairbury City Clerk. Messbarger was previously on that board.

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