TEXARKANA, Ark. - During a hastily called meeting of the city Board of Directors on Thursday, City Manager Kenny Haskin offered his resignation and the Board voted by a narrow margin to accept it and name David Haak as Haskin's replacement.
Voting yes on both measures were ward directors Steven Hollibush, Terry Roberts, Laney Harris and Jeff Hart. Mayor Allen Brown and directors Ulysses Brewer and Barbara Miner voted no.
Notice of the meeting was given Thursday morning, with only an executive session on the agenda. During the Board's and Haskin's nearly hour-long discussion behind closed doors, raised voices and a banging gavel at times could be heard outside the board room in City Hall, where the only other attendees were the city secretary and a reporter.
The Board reconvened in open session to vote on accepting Haskin's resignation, then immediately went into another executive session called by Roberts and Harris. After only a few minutes, the Board again opened the session to vote on naming Haak.
Brown, visibly upset, declined comment as he hurriedly exited the chamber. All Board members but Miner also declined comment.
"I'm just sick. I don't really think there's sufficient documentation for this to happen. I'm totally against it," Miner said.
After the meeting, Haskin said he has been contemplating moving on for some time.
"This has been a great ride the past several years. Wonderful staff and wonderful city. I have decided to step away from my city manager duties to pursue other endeavors. I have been thinking about this for several months. Again, I'm grateful for all the support I have received from the citizens," he said.
He added his gratitude for the support of former Mayor Ruth Penney-Bell - who defeated Haak in the 2014 mayoral election - and Brown, whom he said had stuck with him "through thick and thin."
"The city is as strong as it's ever been before," he said. "That's when you want to leave."
Haskin was named interim city manager in 2015, after the resignation of then-City Manager Harold Boldt following a series of controversial moves regarding the construction of the Texarkana Arkansas Convention Center and adjacent water park. The Board voted unanimously to appoint Haskin city manager later that year. He had previously served as the city's economic development director and as assistant city manager under Boldt.
Haak is a longtime Arkansas-side resident, former state representative and former mayoral candidate. More recently, he was one among a number of plaintiffs in a lawsuit against the city regarding a pair of sales taxes intended to keep Arkansas-side firefighters' and police officers' pay commensurate with their Texas-side counterparts'.
Roberts, who represents Ward 1, and Hart, representing Ward 6, defeated incumbents in last November's elections and took their first oaths of office in January.
State open meeting law allows governmental bodies to meet out of the public eye only "for the purpose of considering employment, appointment, promotion, demotion, disciplining, or resignation of any public officer or employee." They must publicly state the purpose of an executive session before it takes place.
Local news media must be notified about any special or emergency meetings at least two hours before they happen.
The city provided the Gazette notice of Thursday's Board meeting shortly before 11 a.m., with "the discussion of personnel" its stated purpose.
Last month, according to a March 8 article in mypanhandle.com, Haskin was identified as a finalist for the Panama City Beach, Florida, city manager position. Ninety applicants had applied for the job.