When it rains it pours, and that's not referring to the recent deluge that flooded rivers and made the ground squishy.

In other words, problems often come one on top of another.

The Sequim City Council, city administrators and city staff know this only too well.

First, a disappointing round of interviews with the three finalists for the city manager left the council wondering what's next. All three said no to the city's top job. And the council said no to them.

The first pick apparently didn't like the salary offer and wanted a package of goodies, such as a paid membership to the country club, to boot. The council gave him the boot, as it should have.

Then, as councilors and administrators were taking a deep breath and deciding where to go next, the other shoe dropped.

Interim city manager and police chief Robert Spinks announced at Monday's city council meeting that he has a growth on his left auditory nerve.

Called an acoustic neuroma, it is a benign tumor on a cranial nerve that leads from the brainstem to the ear and is involved in hearing and maintaining balance.

It sounds worse than it is, Spinks quipped.

Nonetheless, Spinks faces surgery for the removal of the tumor. It's one reason he had hoped a new city manager would have been selected this weekend.

He will get what he calls a forced vacation but the city will be without an interim or permanent city manager and without a police chief.

Remember, too, the city also has been without a public works director for some time.

Factor in budget woes to all of the above and it brings new meaning to the word stress.

In the meantime, city councilors face the daunting task of finding a permanent city manager.

To be sure, the council cannot and should not be blamed for the weekend rejections. With the median wage in Clallam County at $46,000, and in Sequim at $31,400, the salary range of $95,000-$119,000 for the Sequim city manager is more than fair. To expect a perk package as well is absurd.

However, the council should not backpedal. There were indications they may re-examine the pool of candidates who applied for the job, which would be a mistake. There was a reason those candidates did not make the finalists list, so best not to question or rethink those decisions.

As interim city manager, Spinks outlined a plan of action that calls for hiring an interim city manager, reopening the position next summer and hiring a permanent city manager in September 2009. This gives the council, city staff and Sequim's citizens time to allow the muddy waters to clear out.

Although the prognosis for Spinks is excellent and he has done an outstanding job at running the city and the police department, Spinks says he is not the one to be the so-called permanent interim.

Neither is Lee Walton, a former city manager who has been the consultant for this hiring process.

The council needs to select an interim who shares the city's vision and can work well with all the necessary players.

The Spinks plan is a good one. The council understands it needs to take a step back and start from square one. September is not that far off when it comes to making sure Sequim gets the best of the best.

On another note, Spinks asked the council to end its bimonthly study sessions, which is another good idea. Make that a great idea.

The purpose of the study sessions was to get the new council up to speed shortly after they were elected a year ago. They are up to speed. And while a study session is theoretically a meeting, there should be no action taken during these sessions. Firing a city manager in a study session certainly qualifies as action.

The sessions are difficult for some of the council to attend, as well. Two weeks ago, there wasn't a quorum and the meeting, an important budget planning session, had to be postponed.

Over the past year the council has learned to work together and has made progress on several issues, such as the planned rest stop on the east end of Sequim and the TBD tax.

Now they need to continue to maintain a professional demeanor and work to bring the city's administration team up to the excellent standard we all deserve.

And you, Robert Spinks, take it easy, pretend you are not an interim city manager and police chief for a short while and get well soon.



The signs must go

State law requires political signs must be removed from public property 10 days after the election.

Those 10 days will be up Friday and hopefully the few holdouts will take down their signs.

To be fair, most candidates and their proponents have taken down their political signs lining the streets and filling empty spaces in the city. But there are still quite a few that need to be thrown away or put away until next time.

Sequim's streets don't need to be littered with signs that have no meaning whatsoever. Hopefully after Friday, they will be gone.



Mary Powell can be reached at editor@sequimgazette.com or at 683-3311.