Renewing Heber City Manager Matt Brower’s contract was originally slated for a five-minute discussion and vote April 7.
Instead, there was a weeklong delay, an hourslong closed session, a special meeting and dozens of public comments before the April 14 vote to keep Brower in the role he’s occupied since 2018.
An increasingly frustrated crowd waited until after 9 p.m. for the public portion of the meeting to begin. By that point, the council had been privately reviewing Brower’s performance for three hours.
Over 100 residents attended, about half of them in person.
As their patience waned, some stomped on the floor to tell the council downstairs they were unhappy with the delays.
At a meeting April 7, the council heard extensive public comment about Brower’s performance, mostly positive.
Councilmembers allowed 15 minutes of comment Tuesday; those who spoke were mostly unhappy with Brower’s leadership and the overall direction of the city.
Brower listened intently to the comments, taking notes with a slightly furrowed brow.
Heidi Harmon said she wants a city manager who supports open space and “slow living.”
“Everyone who moved here, moved here for a reason, and it isn’t to live in Salt Lake City or Provo or Park City,” she said.
Onetime mayoral candidate Mike Hewlett said there should be a term limit on Brower’s leadership.
“You’re in an abusive relationship with Matt Brower,” he said. “It’s not going to change. He’s not going to stop. You need to just move on.”
Si Hutt spoke in support of the city manager, calling him “a man of integrity.”
“When I’ve agreed with him or disagreed with him, I always knew that he’s a straight shooter,” he said.
Councilmember Aaron Cheatwood estimated people also submitted about 160 written comments over the past week.
Despite Mayor Heidi Franco cautioning people to remain polite, the mood quickly got heated once it was the council’s turn to deliberate.
When Councilmember Mike Johnston said Brower works for the council, residents yelled, “He works for us!”
One man stood up and walked out when Johnston made a motion to renew the contract.
“We are going to renew his contract tonight,” Johnston said.
“Aw, f—!” the man yelled, as Franco told everyone to quiet down and Johnston tried to finish making his motion.
“What a joke!” someone else called.
It was at that point in the evening that Police Chief Parker Sever stood and warned the crowd to settle down.
Councilmember Yvonne Barney also scolded the rowdy residents.
“When you get online and you make comments or you put videos on there that are not only harmful to the individual, but to their family members, that is wrong,” she said. “Stop. Please be respectful. I have more faith in you than that. Show it.”
She said there had been threats made online against Brower and some councilmembers.
Franco said she was sympathetic to residents’ feelings, but she couldn’t hold up the vote.
“I have to proceed with the motion. I have to enforce the rules, everybody,” she said. “My hands are tied – I have to enforce the rules.”
She and Barney voted against renewing Brower’s contract. Barney said she respects Brower, but she had concerns she couldn’t ignore. Neither offered specific details.
Councilmembers Aaron Cheatwood, Morgan Murdock and Sid Ostergaard joined Johnston in voting “yes.”
Cheatwood said after the long performance review, the council would be “more active in directing” Brower going forward.
“I am confident that once you understand that feedback, that you’ll take it and you’ll do your best to be better,” he said. “And I think that’s fantastic, and I look forward to that.”
Franco told KPCW after the meeting she still believes the contract itself should be changed.
“I was told years ago to keep my hands off of the city manager’s performance evaluation, and this is what it’s led to, as well as no performance evaluations in the last three years,” she said. “That’s not the way cities are supposed to be run.”
Brower will earn a base salary of $214,000.
Heber City is a financial supporter of KPCW.
