Zimmerman calls for Ott’s removal (again)

Yesterday, Council Member Don Zimmerman pulled no punches in a press release (and City Council Message Board post) calling for the replacement of City Manager Marc Ott, citing “systemic and chronic issues plaguing our City and its employees.”) Ott, of course, will receive his City Council evaluation tomorrow. In his statement, Zimmerman lists his perceived issues with the manager, which include: the fact that citizen satisfaction is down; the morale and culture inside the city bureaucracy, which is a problem (and needs to be changed at the top); the Zucker Report; the CodeNEXT process; problems with Chief Art Acevedo; “staff manipulating outcomes”; and cost overruns on major projects like the Waller Creek Tunnel and Water Treatment Plant 4. His statement concludes: “I encourage other Council Members to have the courage to join the many others in our community such as Bill Aleshire, Fred Lewis, Mike Hebert, Linda Curtis, Mike Levy, Roger Borgelt, Gonzalo Barrientos, and Brandon Reed who are calling for a change in leadership for the City.”