Council removes City Administrator

By Alan Carman
The Imperial Republican
    The Imperial City Council met in open and public session on Wednesday, June 3, 2026 at the Council Chambers at 6:00 p.m.
    The meeting opened with Council members Nick Colton, Julie Gockley and Jan Elliott in attendance. John Miller was absent. Mayor Craig Loeffler called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m.
    A motion by Elliott and seconded by Gockley to accept the minutes of the May 21 Council meeting and the May 27 Senior Services Board meeting was made. Motion passed 3-0, with Miller absent.
    The Council discussed the City’s property insurance for the Imperial Manor/Parkview Heights complex. With the City being responsible for the insurance on the building, there was discussion about switching the deductible to $10,000 to save money on the premium.
    All of the other buildings owned by the City have a $1000 deductible through LARM property insurance. Discussion followed about what the City would have to pay on the chance that there would be two hail storms in the same year, that the City could be stuck paying $20,000.
    In the end, Colton made a motion to have a $1,000 deductible on the complex, in accordance with all of the other
City structures. Gockley seconded the motion and it passed on a 3-0 vote.
    Next, the Council discussed approval of video equipment for the City Square. The Mayor had reached out to Prairie States Communications to see what the equipment would cost.
    The mayor stated that a week earlier he was returning soccer balls on a Saturday and witnessed a young girl with a baseball bat that was hitting one of the risers for the new game in the square. It prompted him to act quickly, before something was damaged.
    Two bids were given by Prairie States. One bid was for a four megapixel system costing $7,392.41. The second bid was for an eight megapixel system for $8,092.42. The first bid will support eight cameras and the second would support 16 cameras.
    After discussion, the Council instructed the mayor to reach out and get a couple more bids, due to the fact that Elliott is part owner in Prairie States Communication. Elliott stated she would abstain from the vote. The Council will revisit this at the next meeting.
    The Welcome sign just East of town is in need of repair. Josh Moreno has looked at the sign and is working on getting the repairs done to it. The sign is just showing signs of weathering and would be better to repair now, instead of letting it get in worse shape and having to redo the entire sign.
    There was discussion on reviewing the City Personnel Handbook for changes that need to be updated. Elliott and Gockley were instructed to review section 1-6, while Colton and Miller were assigned sections 7-12 and have suggestions at the next meeting for updates.
    The mayor also advised that the book be split between City employees and appointed officials. There are different procedures for each.
    Allo communication transition from a cable franchise to master right of way agreement. The gross revenue and fees with the cable franchise comes to $631 per month. Allo proposed a broadband revenue and fee that totals $663.65 per month to add $32.65 revenue to the city per month.
    Gockley made a motion to approve the agreement with ALLO Communications and Elliott seconded. Motion passed 2-0 with Colton abstaining.
    There was discussion on the City sales tax, which expires at the end of 2026. Currently, the City adds 1% for the city to use. Half of that 1% goes to economic development and the other half goes to community development. There are options to drop the tax or go with renewing the 1%. It is also possible to go up to 1.5% or 2% which would bring in more money to help with the rising costs of everything.
    The City of Imperial missed the option to have a special election to decide what the citizens of Imperial want to do. By not having the wording in place for a special election, the sales tax will have to go on the November Ballot.
    The information has to be given to the State 120 days before the election with the wording that the City wants on the ballot in November. After the election, whatever the citizens decide will not be implemented for 120 days after the election.
    That means when the City sales tax ends at the end of December, whatever is decided on the ballot will not go into effect until the end of March 2027. Thus, the City will lose out on approximately $120,000 to $150,000 in sales tax revenue.
    After much discussion between the board and the public in attendance, Elliott moved to have special Attorney Mike Rodgers draft the language for the November Ballot that gives two options for the City sales tax. Colton seconded it and the motion passed 3-0.
    Option one would be to have the same 1% sales tax and split it 50/50 between LB 880 and Community Services as in the past and option two would be a 1.5% sales tax to be split in three equal parts. One third for LB 880, one third for community development and one third for healthcare (helping with the manor expenses and things of that nature). Both options would be perpetual, running until the council voted to terminate them.
    Attorney Mike Rodgers specializes in this form of law. He will be instructed to present the Council with a draft of the wording to go on the November ballot.
    The final action of the night was discussion concerning removal of the City Administrator from office. A motion by Colton and seconded by Gockly to move to closed session to protect the reputation of all parties was made and passed.
    The mayor, city attorney, council and the city administrator, went into closed session at 7:02. The council, mayor city attorney and city administrator came out of executive session at 8:39 in the council chambers.
    The mayor opened the floor for discussion, but it was stated that nothing that was discussed in closed session would be available for discussion. Therefore there was no discussion.
    After a few minutes of silence, Colton moved to remove the city administrator from office and terminate his employment. Elliott seconded the motion and it passed 3-0.
    When asked what the reason for termination was, the council refused to make a comment.
    Elliott made a motion to adjourn the meeting, Colton seconded and the motion passed 3-0. The meeting adjourned at 8:46.