davewilbrecht

Former Town Manager Dave Wilbrecht

The City Council of Blaine, Washington, voted last week to hire former Town of Mammoth Lakes Town Manager Dave Wilbrecht as their new City Manager.

An article in the News Tribune/ Bellingham Herald says that the Blaine City Council picked Wilbrecht to replace the 13-year, retiring City Manager. The article says Wilbrecht will start June 24th and that his salary will be $110,000. Leaders in that City seem fully aware of Wilbrecht’s participation in Mammoth’s major financial problems and his eventual resignation.

Although Wilbrecht’s departure from his position with the Town of Mammoth was cloaked in considerable secrecy, his separation agreement did go public. That document confirmed that Wilbrecht resigned and received nine months’ salary and accrued comprehensive leave money, roughly $150,000. The Town and the Manager both agreed not to make disparaging remarks about each other or to sue each other.

Wilbrecht left his job in Mammoth in mid-February in the aftermath of intense negotiations toward the MLLA lawsuit judgment settlement. The News Tribune article, reported by Kie  Relyea, quotes Blaine Mayor Harry Robinson saying that Wilbrecht was “selected for his years of experience as a city administrator and for being at the helm of Mammoth Lakes as the town grappled with a $43 million judgment from a development lawsuit that forced it to file for bankruptcy in July 2012.”

The article goes on to say that Mammoth reached a settlement agreement for $29.5 million. Blaine Mayor Robinson said “Wilbrecht had to make some tough decisions and he was responsible for getting Mammoth Lakes out of its difficult financial situation.” The news article said Blaine city leaders want Wilbrecht to help them out of their financial troubles.

In Blaine, Washington, nearly 300 people lost their jobs when a 200-room hotel shut down in December of last year.

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