Genoa chairman stands his ground

A Genoa resident called for the town board chairman to give up his seat in response to the resignation of town manager Tom Peters.

Former town board member and 26-year resident Ron Funk asked Bill Donohoe to give up the chairmanship in a letter he read into the record at Tuesday's regular meeting.

"Given the existing situation, it is unlikely that we'll be able to attract another well-qualified applicant for the town manager's job," he wrote. "Therefore, I believe the board chairman should resign his position to allow another, less controversial, board member to take his chairmanship, and to give Genoa the opportunity to put its government back together."

Donohoe, who was re-elected to the board in 2004 without opposition, said he would not give up the chairmanship.

"I have no plans to resign or answer the allegations," he said.

Funk read both his letter and one from Randy Falcke, who said he felt it was time to discuss expanding Genoa's boundaries.

Resident Steven Morton presented a petition containing the signature of 153 residents expressing their support for Peters to the town board for inclusion in the record.

The petition recognized Peters for his work as town manager during the seven months he held the job.

"This document in no way diminishes the work of previous town managers," Morton said.

In his letter, Falcke said Genoa needs strong leadership to deal with future challenges. He suggested a part-time town manager and that the board set policy and not interfere with the day-to-day operation of the town.

Funk was more blunt in his letter.

"We've had three highly qualified town managers resign in 20 months, two of the them in the last year," he said. "From what I gather, the two town managers who resigned this year complained privately about excessive interference by the board chairman to the extent they no longer wanted to work under such conditions. It cannot be disputed that Paul Williams, Mike Brown and his successor, Tom Peters, were outstanding town managers."

In Genoa, crisis usually precedes Candy Dance, which is the town's main fundraiser.

However, this year Donohoe reported that Candy Dance was a success, with a deposit of $104,340 into the town's budget from sales of candy, the dance, parking and other revenue.

That's in addition to $159,000 from booth fees deposited in August.

With the exception of the letter and petition reading, the town board meeting was brief on Tuesday.

Peters' last day as town manager was Sept. 29. He did not attend Tuesday's meeting. About 60 Genoans attended a potluck dinner held in his honor on his last day. Peters said at the dinner that he hoped he would be able to work with Candy Dance next year. As town manager he served as chairman of the event this year.

n Kurt Hildebrand can be reached at khildebrand@recordcourier.com or 782-5121, ext. 215.