LETTER: Appears to be a ‘power play’

Appears to be a 'power play'

I would like to think that our City Board believed that they were acting in the best interest of our community of Siloam Springs by firing Philip Patterson.

However, that seems to me to be rather far-fetched.

Philip Patterson was an excellent City Administrator who had done an effective job of managing our city. He was highly regarded in this community, in the Northwest Arkansas community and beyond. This outstanding man was fired "without cause." No compelling reason for this action was given to the other city board members or to the community at large. It was costly to the city.

It appears to be a capricious, arbitrary and unwarranted political power play. This appearance is reinforced by the later attempt to pack the screening committee with the same board members that had fired Mr. Patterson. Previous search committees had been made up only of citizens from the community rather than board members.

Again, I emphasize this is how this action appears to me and to many others. It might appear this way to the current city employees who may be fearing a purge. This is how it might appear to businesses contemplating a move to this town. And it would certainly cause any potential replacement to pause before signing a contract that did not have significant protection from such an arbitrary and capricious termination.

George Benjamin

Siloam Springs