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Davenport city administrator and aldermen officially part ways

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, the City Council voted 9-1 to accept a “Succession, Transition and Separation Agreement” with Malin. The deal includes ...

Davenport's city administrator Craig Malin will be out of the job on Friday.

On Wednesday, June 24, 2015, the City Council voted 9-1 to accept a "Succession, Transition and Separation Agreement" with Malin. The deal includes a severance package that could top $310,000.

"Sometimes you have to make a compromise, and I had to do that today. I would have preferred him to be fired to be honest with it," said Alderman Barney Barnhill after the meeting.

Aldermen announced the agreement Wednesday morning, six days after Mayor Bill Gluba called on Malin and city attorney Tom Warner to resign. Gluba said Malin and Warner had “overstepped their authority” in the dealings surrounding a plan to move Rhythm City Casino to the intersection of I-80 and I-74.

Malin did not attend Wednesday's meeting, but in a written statement, said he "is not resigning in response to Mayor Gluba’s dual-targeted requests of him and Corporation Counsel Tom Warner to do so. Rather, he is moving forward positively, with an amicable parting as Davenport’s longest-serving City Administrator."

Barnhill, though, said Malin violated the council's trust by withholding information about the casino deal. When approving the contract, he said he didn't know the city was also paying to grade the casino site for an added $1.6 million.

"I was one of the 10 that voted for it, but I certainly would not have voted if I knew what I was voting on, and if I didn't have the green sheet with the data to tell me, it's pretty hard to make an accurate, definitive vote," said Barnhill.

Alderman Ray Ambrose cast the lone dissenting vote. He said he believes Malin should continue to work as Davenport city administrator, and said he knew everything the casino contract included.

"We're going to keep the cost down, and I think everybody's going to be surprised at the end that Craig was right, and the City Council did the right thing," said Ambrose.

Both Barnhill and Ambrose, though, said they believe the City Council will be able to work together in the future.

Aldermen voted to appoint assistant city administrator Corri Spiegel as interim city administrator.

"I apologize to the citizens of Davenport that they had to witness the chaos of City Hall, but I think we'll move forward and things will be positive," said Ambrose.

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