Albert Lea's former city manager is set to appear in Freeborn County court Wednesday. He says he's confident criminal charges against him will be dismissed.
James Norman faces two felonies and one gross misdemeanor, accused of misusing a city-issued credit card.
City Hall is recommending criminal charges be dropped. That's up to the prosecutor though, who tells ABC 6 News she has not been contacted by the city, and at this point, does not plan to drop charges.
This Sept. 27, 2010, Albert Lea Tribune link - an interesting twist, are there closet skeletons around the town, around City of Albert Lea, to be rattled and might that be why Norman and the city council cut a deal? Inferences from between the lines are permitted, readers, so infer.
See further info, here and here.
KAALtv.com reported online, here, including reproducing an interesting item of communication from James Norman [italics added, not in original]:
In a special meeting Monday night, the two agreed to end Norman's contract. Norman will receive 3 months of severance pay as part of that agreement.
Norman was placed on paid leave, as he still faces charges for misusing public funds.
The city will ask for all criminal charges to be dropped as part of this agreement.
Norman released the following statement to the City Council.
"I hearby irrevocably resign my employment as City Manager with the City of Albert Lea effective September 27, 2010.
Please allow me to thank you; the City Council for hiring me in the first place, no matter what the outcome of the issues that lead up to my administrative leave. I think the Council has acted honorably and professionally during this very difficult time.
First let me address a small controversy about the executive search firm. The City did spend money--good money--on a search firm. After controversy erupted over hiring the firm, it turns out that the work the firm did was "spot on." The firm vetted me properly and it found precisely what was detailed by follow-up media investigations. That I am a professional and a good fit for the city. The Council's investment was wise and appropriate!
Second, while you continue to face many challenges, I would urge you, City Council, to continue operating in the honorable and professional manner in which you have already shown you can do."
Best regards,
James E. Norman
Were I making an Albert Lea decision on whether to sue the search firm for malfeasance in duty under the contract, and hence breach and restitution, the first person I would talk to is Todd Cook, former City of Ramsey council member, about his feelings of differing factors preceding his election loss in 2006, the year Norman resigned from his position with City of Ramsey with it reported he did so without any job transitioning arranged at the time. I would talk to Cook, if he proves willing, about his recollections of his trip with Norman to China as city representatives (in a since moribund sister city effort). My understanding is there may also have been a complaint letter to City of Ramsey officials by an official of another metro governmental unit, which I regard as public data due to its communication aspects but to which I was denied access by City Attorney Goodrich under a claim it was an exempt personnel matter and not public data to be released per a citizen's request. I expect Cook's contact info remains as archived online, here.
_____________UPDATE_____________
Things in Albert Lea appear to be as much a soap opera as in Ramsey. This report of information gleaned from court papers indicates a Rhonda Moen is Albert Lea's finance manager, and she instigated or precipitated the Norman credit card inquiry. A Victoria Simonson was the Albert Lea city manager, she left, and Norman was hired as the replacement. I don't have the link but a first choice candidate took himself out of the running and Norman was hired as second on the short list. A search firm was hired to return a list of prospective candidates.
Sometimes a community bulletin board is an interesting place to get information not reported by the press, although a lot of opinion must be taken with a grain of salt. There is such an outlet online for Albert Lea and/or Freeborn County; this link.
Norman may have been stepping into a minefield on taking the job, but somehow he apparently got crosswise with Ms. Moen, who along with her husband Greg, a real estate agent and promoter apparently, were pushing a Tiger Hills subdivision development; with many bulletin board posts alleging it was a "conflict of interest" and that Vicky and Rhonda were together monitoring their own city credit card usage; with some kind of auditor report having criticized city practices. Detail is unclear. See, this and this, re Greg Moen's real estate operating address and his Tiger Hills involvement; with the Tiger Hills SoS filing indicating the promotional LLC at the same street address.
Then there is this and this posted online the same day, indicating two key soap opera players are on exit mode from Albert Lea. Apparently the saga will make the Sept. 29, local 5 p.m. TV broadcast news; per this link.
You wonder whether Albert Lea has a sister city and whether Norman was there long enough to find out. Also, and with a willful woman in city government whose husband was promoting with her help a family real estate deal and with conflict of interest allegations arising, you might wonder whether James Norman is feeling he walked into experiencing that Yogi Berra thing, "Deja vu, all over again."
Last, this screenshot item from p.5 of the local community bulletin board thread. Seventeen grand allegedly paid a head hunting firm and Albert Lea appears to have spent it on a contract in order to come up with James Norman:
Ironies abound. I believe the search firm name is spelled with one "m" not two; this Google. But we in Ramsey cannot laugh. At an amount capped at seventeen grand the Brimeyer Groupies are pikers in comparison to Landform.
Landform's latest latest gimmick as I saw it being approved on TV by the planning board, is to be an oversized sign on Highway 10 hawking the CORpse. For the benefit of drivers. Also, it probably will be visible from the Northstar commuter trains as they wisk nonstop through Ramsey.
The city's cash flows and flows.
_________UPDATE_________
This link.