Tucson City Manager Mike Hein fired; to get six months' pay

The vote came after an approximately 20-minute, closed-door meeting to conduct his annual performance evaluation.

Democrats Karin Uhlich, Shirley Scott, Steve Leal and Regina Romero voted to terminate Hein immediately. Opposed were Mayor Bob Walkup and council members Nina Trasoff and Rodney Glassman.

The motion was approved with no public discussion.

Hein, who was paid more than $200,000 annually, left the meeting immediately following the vote saying he had no comment. His employment contract guarantees him six months severance pay.

City Attorney Mike Rankin said under the city code, Deputy City Manager Mike Letcher automatically becomes the interim city manger until the council names a replacement. Letcher, who plans to retire in November, would not comment.

Uhlich said there are currently no set plans for finding a permanent replacement.

Hein was named city manager in April 2005. He also has served as a Deputy Pima County Administrator and had worked for Marana, Nogales and the City of South Tucson.

Hein was Tucson’s 23rd city manager.

Hein and the city have had an extremely difficult past several months, as inaction or a series of missteps with Rio Nuevo Downtown has the Legislature considering pulling the plug on the $600 million tax-increment-financing district, or slapping heavy sanctions on it.

The city's $44 million in reserves have been spent down to $11 million, giving the city no leeway to bridge an estimated $80 million revenue shortfall for the fiscal year that begins July 1.

City employees have challenged the manager's office's assertions that it didn't know about a deficit in the city's self-insurance fund, saying they wouldn't have their names dragged through the mud by Hein's office.

In addition, Hein had gotten in hot water recently with the council over $5 million in extras added to the Fourth Avenue Underpass project Downtown, with the city Transportation Department — not Rio Nuevo — having to pick up the tab. Although Hein and Transportation Director Jim Glock have questioned how much, if any, of the extra work was really requested by Rio Nuevo, the added cost ate into the department's ability to fill potholes and conduct regular road maintenance.