Mayor Takes City Admin Duties

The Olney City Council formally accepted the resignation of City Administrator Simon Dwyer at its Oct. 13 meeting and voted to hand his duties to Mayor Rue Rogers on a temporary basis.

Mr. Dwyer resigned earlier this month after holding the administrator post for about 18 months. He told the Council in his resignation letter that he was taking a job in another city but did not specify where, Mayor Rogers said. His departure means that the city’s two top administrative jobs – including Olney police chief – are vacant. Olney Police Chief Dan Birbeck resigned in May after clashing with Mr. Dwyer over the police department’s budget and OPD operations, and now is the chief of police for the City of Vernon.

Mayor Rogers said his role would be temporary while the city begins the process of recruiting an interim administrator and ultimately a permanent replacement.

Mayor Rogers told the council that he has already spoken with regional contacts who could connect Olney to retired city administrators and managers willing to serve on an interim basis.