Granite Shoals city manager resigns after months of controversy

The Granite Shoals City Council accepted the resignation of City Manager Peggy Smith during its regular meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 9. Smith submitted her resignation on Monday in the aftermath of a tumultuous 2023 that culminated in severe public backlash due to her involvement in a discussion on lethal feral cat management methods.

“We’d like to announce that Peggy Smith has tendered her resignation,” said Mayor Ron Munos after a 14-minute executive session on the matter of Smith’s employment.

The council held two executive sessions on Tuesday. After the first session, the council voted unanimously to accept Smith’s resignation and approve a “separation agreement.” The terms of the agreement were not made available to the public, but DailyTrib.com has submitted a public information request with the city to learn more.

The council’s second executive session resulted in a unanimous vote to appoint Fire Chief Tim Campbell as interim city manager. Campbell will have the full authority of the position until a replacement is found.

Campbell has been the Granite Shoals fire chief for over two years and has 19 years of service with the city. He also helped develop the city’s budgets for the 2022-23 and 2023-24 fiscal years and is familiar with its finances.

“I have been with the city a long time. I know the ins and outs,” he told DailyTrib.com. “This is an exciting change for the city.”

The Granite Shoals City Council will have to convene again before it can discuss and determine the method for selecting a new city manager. 

Very little was said during Tuesday night’s open meeting regarding Smith’s resignation, but two council members shared their thoughts.

“The city has been through a lot, and I believe this is a good and timely decision for the entire city and for Peggy Smith as well,” said Place 4 Councilor Steve Hougen.

Mayor Munos offered his thanks to Smith for her service.

“I just want to thank Ms. Smith,” he said. “She had been an employee of the city of Granite Shoals for 16 years, and she has done a lot of loyal service. I wish her well in the next chapter of her life.”

Smith was not present on Tuesday night, and her city manager nameplate had already been removed before the meeting began.

CATS AND CONTROVERSY

Smith resigned following several highly charged public meetings in December 2023 concerning her involvement in the Granite Shoals Wildlife Advisory Committee’s discussion on how to handle the city’s feral cat problem. An audio recording of the committee’s Nov. 6 meeting was shared online and many residents were outraged at its content.

Smith was heard discussing at length how feral cats could be trapped and killed. While no action was taken on these plans, the discussion alone was enough for some to call for her resignation and for the resignations of the committee members. 

“We have a location on this property that is called deer heaven that I’m sure could be kitty-cat heaven, too,” Smith was heard saying on the recording.

Wildlife Advisory Committee Chairman Todd Holland resigned from his position on Monday, Jan. 8. The City Council took no further action on the status of the committee or its other members but did remove feral cat management from the committee’s responsibilities. 

The Hill Country Humane Society also publicly severed ties with Granite Shoals following the release of the meeting’s recording. This left Granite Shoals without a place to send stray animals, which has cost the city $7,000 to $10,000 since Dec. 14, according to Police Chief John Ortis. 

Without the Humane Society as a resource, Granite Shoals officers are working overtime and the city is paying for costly veterinary housing, Ortis told DailyTrib.com.

The city typically contracts with the Hill Country Humane Society to take in up to 100 strays a year for $20,000 to $30,000.

Ortis is hopeful the situation will soon right itself.

“Everything is moving in the correct way to mend the city’s relationship with the Humane Society,” he told DailyTrib.com.

The council is in the process of creating an animal control committee that could be responsible for managing feral cats and other problematic domestic animals. 

The feral cat issue was only the second major controversy for Smith in the last half of 2023.

Former Mayor Kiel Arnone and Councilor Kevin Flack expressed concern over her management of city finances in October 2023, citing her inability to produce a balanced budget and several serious errors in the city’s accounting that occurred while she was in charge. 

The pair pushed for her termination at that time, but the council voted to put her on a professional improvement plan instead. Arnone and Flack resigned in protest.

Smith became the full-time Granite Shoals city manager in March 2023 when the council voted 5-2 to offer her the job after a dysfunctional executive recruitment process to find a suitable candidate fell apart. She had been serving as interim city manager for eight months since June 2022, after former City Manager Jeff Looney was fired. Smith was the assistant city manager to Looney. She had worked for the city of Granite Shoals for nearly 16 years when she resigned. 

dakota@thepicayune.com