New city manager hired in Poplar Bluff

POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. -- A Michigan man accepted the position of Poplar Bluff city manager Tuesday night during a special meeting of the city council.

Heath Kaplan is a finance and management services director and interim county administrator for Muskegon County, Michigan.

He was the first choice of the Advisory Search Committee and the city council, Mayor Angela Pearson said after the meeting.

Pearson declined to give details about Kaplan's contract, saying it would be signed at the Aug. 4 council meeting. Salary and other information will not be released until then, Pearson said.

The council also approved a change to a city ordinance governing the city manager's term.

The ordinance previously stated the city manager is an at-will employee. The new ordinance says the term will be a one-year contract and/or an at-will employee.

Council member Ed DeGaris questioned whether the change opened the city to the risk of a lawsuit.

DeGaris initially voted against moving the item from the work session to the action agenda, but later voted for the ordinance change. He said he approved the ordinance only because it continued to include the at-will employee wording.

A letter from city attorney Jessica Liss of the Jackson-Lewis law firm in St. Louis advised that a one-year contract would not be in the city's best interest, DeGaris said. While the letter was part of closed-session documents, DeGaris said he felt the paragraph pertaining to the city manager term needed to be discussed in open session.

DeGaris said the paragraph stated that entering into an "employment contract may not serve the best interest of the city and deviates from the at-will employment status generally associated with this position. ... If the city offers a contract of employment, the city manager maintains the right to sue the city for breach of contract with respect to those terms and conditions."

DeGaris is concerned the city could face a lawsuit if the council felt it needed to fire a city manager go before the end of the contract.

"I can understand someone who was moving their family would want some protection," DeGaris said. "We're still a small enough community that the people who work for the city are like extended family. We want to do everything we can for them, but not at the expense of everyone else."

After the closed session, Pearson said she felt all of the questions had been resolved. The council spoke with Liss, and there is no danger in offering a one-year contract, according to Pearson.

Attempts to reach Kaplan were unsuccessful.

He visited Poplar Bluff on Friday to meet with the city council and department leaders during a luncheon at the Black River Coliseum and on Saturday for a dinner with the council.

Kaplan has been Muskegon County interim county administrator since June 30 and finance director since 2010, according to Michigan media company MLive, which operates the Muskegon Chronicle.

Kaplan, a Michigan native, previously worked for two years as city manager in Crandall, Texas. He also held government jobs at several small towns in Michigan, according to MLive.

Kaplan holds bachelor's and master's degrees from Grand Valley State University in Michigan.

Muskegon County has a population of about 170,000 people.