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Wednesday, 13 April 2011 02:35

Sabiston resigns


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Sabiston at a recent retreat. Sabiston at a recent retreat.

Roanoke Rapids City Council tonight unanimously accepted the resignation of City Manager Paul Sabiston.

Sabiston’s resignation is effective June 30, although the agreement reached following a closed session does give either party the option to end the contract sooner.

Speculation that Sabiston might announce his resignation has swirled throughout the community for several weeks. There was speculation he might do so following a closed session at last week’s city council work session.

“I have the utmost confidence in Mr. Sabiston, in that he will do all he can to hand off the reigns of this community in the best way he can that the current times allow,” Mayor Emery Doughtie said in a prepared statement.

“This has been coming,” Sabiston said following the meeting. “There’s not much to say. I gave notice. It’s time to move on.”

Sabiston said summer is the perfect time to plan his next move. “I’ve enjoyed my time here. It’s a good community.”

Sabiston said he wanted to stay to help city council through the budget process, “And leaving the city in good shape. I wish everyone the best in the future.”

He said he has a number of options for jobs.

Asked if it was his choice to resign, he said, “It was time to move on.”

Sabiston wants to make sure the sidewalk project for Roanoke Avenue is done before he leaves and wants to continue to work with legislators on the sales tax issue.

He admitted, however, he will not see the proposed transfer station built. “At least we can get that started in the right direction.”

Sabiston began working with the city in August of 2009.

He told council before the vote, “I think it’s a good idea we work through the budget.”

Carl Ferebee made the motion to amend Sabiston’s contract and Ed Liverman cast the second.

 

Lance Martin

Lance Martin

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comments  

 
+1 #11 fletcher carter 2011-04-19 13:20
I have been curious to know the details of this situation. Is your name really jane doe?
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-8 #10 JANE DOE 2011-04-18 02:39
please let the author of "people above the law" know that the fence was indeed up to code.
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+2 #9 fletcher carter 2011-04-15 02:40
It is a shame that politics in this country have come to be dominated by the moneyed special interest's ability to defame and undermine those who would oppose them rather than by the public's need and ability to support those who would serve the public good. Mr, Sabiston took on an extremely difficult job at best when he came hereand has, I believe made a valiant effort.He needed and deserved our support, and not giving it, we get what we deserve.{corrected and expanded}
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+7 #8 Hannibal Barca 2011-04-14 23:15
Apparently the City Council found Mr. Sabiston to tough and unwilling to bend the rules for certain individuals. Instead of wringing their hands over a fence that is not even in the city limits, I think the council should focus on the Damocles Sword hanging over our head called the RR Theatre. Sounds like they just fired the one person that had the wherewithal to negotiate with Bank of America! VERY disappointing.
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+5 #7 fletcher carter 2011-04-14 11:51
It is a shame that our politics have come to be dominated by the ability of the moneyed specal interest's ability to defame and subterfuge those who would oppose them, rather than the public rewarding those who would serve the public good.This seems to me tp be yet another example.
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0 #6 jay 2011-04-14 06:44
Good that's he gone . What has he done public works nothing at all . But look down on the people who help the community. Good bye . Some more people need to follow his lead
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+4 #5 CE 2011-04-14 02:34
I would like to say that Mr Sabiston has done a good job for the city. While I have some very close friends within the city and they will miss him. It seems that the city council pushed him out without checking with any of the people who should really matter,"The Employees" that he was being paid to manage. The same ones who stand to lose up to 6% of their salary but still serve the citizens of this community everyday to the best of their ability. Council once again it seems has done a disservice to our city and has bowed down to certian groups/individuals. This batch of politicians isn't a bit better than the one's we got rid of last election. Lance if you really want to do some good journalism keep investigating this story and get to the real reason all of this went down. Question councilmen as to why the city manager was forced out because we all know he didn't choose to leave on his own. He has just purchased a home here. Find out the real reason and you will be surprised
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+3 #4 Charles 2011-04-14 00:26
I attended the council meeting last night and I think there were a couple issues that lead to Mr Sabiston resignation.The fence issue sure didn't help matters.I listened to four concerned citizens bringing up some very good points about the issues concerning the fence with clear violation of land use ordinace codes.Council needs to set a good example to the people of Roanoke Rapids and take care of this it is a simple matter to resolve.
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+7 #3 Maureen 2011-04-13 19:56
It's a pity the only resignation was from "the best of the worst". I'd much rather see the city council and mayor resign, which given their dismal performance would be the right thing. I'm sure trying to enforce the rules equally was a contributing factor for Sabiston's resignation, and having to deal with a fence issue should be low priority for a city manager. Best of luck to him, and I pity the person who decides to apply for that job.
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+10 #2 people above the law 2011-04-13 13:06
Mr. Sabiston took a stand and realized that Victory Baptist had installed a 8' vinyl fence that was not up to code and tried to hide their mistake by putting rip-rap to concel the problem. He is a man of integrity and believes that no one is above the law. He could not be intiminated by a group of mislead people in the name of Christ.Some of the city council can not say the same. This is Roanoke Rapids loss. Good luck to you and thank you for trying to do the right thing. God Bless!!
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