In our opinion … Firing City Manager Garbarino was a rush to judgment

In the weeks to come, one can only hope cooler heads will prevail over the firing of City Manager Max Garbarino.
Garbarino’s cause for firing?
It appears to be playing a role in bringing back a certain police officer, and for not taking disciplinary action against the police chief sooner – despite his explanation that he simply didn’t have enough evidence to take action against the chief.
And when Garbarino did place the chief on paid suspension?
Mayor Amer Ghalib admonished him for acting too soon.
What a crazed, upside-down situation this all is.
And who will likely suffer the most harm?
It’s the taxpayers, who will likely be socked with a huge legal bill to eventually settle Garbarino’s lawsuit over this fiasco.
The council’s decision to fire Garbarino came after an 80-minute closed-door meeting to discuss the matter, as well as the related matters of whether to fire the police chief and a police investigator who have also been on suspension.
The council lacks the authority to fire the chief and investigator, but did have the right to fire Garbarino.
It may seem that Garbarino’s firing was a rush to judgment. But, in truth, it was clear which direction the mayor and council wanted to go regarding Garbarino, as this had been building up for the past few months.
Why?
We have no idea, because a number of decisions by this body have seemed confused and irrational.
Perhaps, with a new mayor and new council in January, this mess will get untangled.
But, from what we hear, the council is getting ready to hire someone to fill the now-vacant job of city manager – and if that does happen, it’s unlikely Garbarino will make a return.
Posted Sept. 5, 2025