Oilton Mayor Put on 60-Day improvement plan and pay reduced
OILTON — “They’re not just gonna slap my hand,” said Oilton Mayor Patrick Kennedy in the midst of a motion to put him on a personal improvement plan.
A special meeting for the Oilton council members and Oilton public works authority was held on July 22 in response to what council members described as unbecoming behavior displayed during a previous meeting. The council approved a performance improvement plan (PIP) for Oilton Mayor Patrick Kennedy and the authority approved a temporary pay reduction in a pair of unanimous votes.
After taking action to pay outstanding invoices in open session during the council meeting, members entered executive session to discuss disciplinary actions for Kennedy. Following the two-hour executive session, the council returned to open session to vote on the agenda item listed as “Action on Mayor Patrick Kennedy”.
A motion to have City Attorney Adam Heavin create a PIP to be reviewed at the next meeting was introduced by Councilmember Julia Bagwell and seconded by Councilmember Bessie Mattaliano. The measure passed 5–0.
It was at this point that Kennedy leaned toward the city attorney and whispered, “What is it? They’re not just going to slap my hand.” The attorney declined to respond in open session. Attempts to contact Heavin and Kennedy have resulted in no response.
The meeting for the Oilton Public Works Authority — comprised of the same members as the council — was held in conjunction with the council meeting and followed suit. Bagwell introduced a motion to place Kennedy on a 60day PIP with pay reduced to $500 during such period to be reviewed each month. OPWA member Sharlie Jackson asked that the review be signed on July 25, Bagwell revised her motion to include the amendment as well as the addition that the review go into effect immediately after Sunday, July 27. The motion passed 5-0.
In a written statement following the meeting, Bagwell elaborated on her personal reasoning for the motion.
“At Tuesday night’s special meeting, the council discussed significant concerns regarding the conductofourcurrentmayor. After lengthy deliberation in executive session, the council voted to implement a PIP and reduce his pay by $1,000 per month. Though I made the motion for the PIP, it was not because I felt it was the strongest action — but because it was the only viable step at the time to avoid deadlock. I believe the people of Oilton expect their leaders to be held to high standards, and I remain committed to transparency, accountability, and ensuring public trust. This decision does not reflect personal conflict — it reflects the need for clear expectations and responsible leadership.”
Councilmember Ry Hollingsworth offered a brief summary of the special meeting as a statement: “The council approved some purchase orders and on the mayor and chairman part, the council approved to put the chairman on an improvement plan that would outline his duties and responsibilities that the board required the chairman to follow too — and that is all the council done at the special meeting.”
Councilmember Brian Barton noted the significance of the unanimous vote stating it was a reasonable course of action.
“The vote was unanimous for the personal improvement plan. I can’t speak for the other board members but that should send a very clear message that we’re all looking for improvement and we’re all hoping that the mayor can do better. We’re giving him a chance — we could have made other decisions at that meeting but this is a very responsible reaction compared to other decisions that we could have made,” he said.
Attempts to receive statements from other council members before press time were unsuccessful.