HOPEWELL — City Manager March Altman resigned Monday night, bringing an end to a three-year tenure and possibly opening the door to become the next city manager in Petersburg.
In a short letter addressed to "The Honorable City Council," Altman said he was submitting the 45-day notice required by Hopewell city code. His last day in the office will be Aug. 5, but he plans to take vacations July 18-22 and Aug. 8-10, essentially making his last official day Aug. 10.
"I would like to thank City Council for [the] honor and privilege to have served the citizens of Hopewell," Altman wrote in his resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Progress-Index.
Altman had been on leave for unspecified reasons, according to Hopewell Mayor Patience Bennett. When reached Monday night, Bennett declined to comment on Altman's departure.
While Bennett was silent about Altman's departure, one of her council colleagues was not. In a blistering Facebook post, Ward 1 Councilor Debbie Randolph blamed his departure on "hostility and nastiness" Randolph claimed some councilors regularly throw upon city staff
"That leaves the city with no [city manager], [assistant city manager], no HR director, no code director, no rec and parks director, no budget right now and part of the council currently fighting with our industry in town," Randolph wrote. "I really don't know how so few can impact so many and so much so negatively."
Hopewell has not had an assistant city manager since Charles Dane resigned last year to take a job in the private sector.
"I have lived in this town a majority of my life and I simply am sick to my stomach," Randolph wrote. "We are allowing city staff to be maligned, harassed and work in a toxic environment. Who would want to to work where you are accused of lying, not doing your job, all falsely?"
Randolph's statements are an apparent shot at Councilors Jasmine Gore and Brenda Pelham, both former Hopewell mayors who have clashed with Altman in the past. Gore was particularly critical of Altman over the city being so far behind in its required financial audits to the state. The administration responded by citing issues with budget software and time lost due to COVID-19.
Since that time, the city has worked to get the reports caught up. A check of the city's government website shows that audits between 2015-19 have been submitted, and the ETA for Hopewell's fiscal year 2020 audit is June 30 of this year. The FY 2021 audit is scheduled to be ready by September.
The Progress-Index could not track down any contact information for Altman, including a phone number. He does not appear to have a profile on Facebook. There is a Twitter account for a @MarchAltman in Hopewell, but that account does not accept messages.
At its meeting on June 14, City Council voted to appoint Dr. Concetta Manker, Hopewell's information technology director, as acting city manager effective June 27. Until that date, council named Jerry Byerly, Hopewell's director of water renewal, to fill the position.
Altman's last appearance at a City Council meeting was on May 12. A meeting scheduled for May 26 was cancelled due to the lack of a quorum. A livestream of the June 7 meeting showed Altman's chair on the council dais to be empty, At the two meetings since then, Byerly was seated in the city manager's usual spot.
Altman, a longtime Hopewell resident, became Hopewell city manager in February 2018. He also has served as deputy administrator for community development in Powhatan County.
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What that possibly means for Petersburg
A former deputy city manager for operations in Petersburg prior to going to Hopewell, Altman's name was bantered about when Stuart Turille Jr., who was named Petersburg city manager in July 2021, resigned under pressure from Petersburg City Council last March. Former Petersburg public safety director Kenneth Miller, who was Petersburg's interim before Turille, was brought back after Turille quit, and last month was given a 57% pay raise by council.
Altman's administration came under fire two years ago when it was reported that Hopewell had not submitted required state audits of its financial records for a number of years. Hopewell Councilor Jasmine Gore, who was the city's mayor at the time, often criticized city administration for not responding to her requests for audit information in a timely manner. The administration responded by citing issues with budget software and time lost due to COVID-19.
Like Hopewell, Petersburg has had issues with delivery of its latest audit. If audits are not submitted on time, that reportedly affects a locality's ability to get state funding for initiatives.
Shortly before news of Altman's resignation broke, Petersburg City Council announced a special meeting for 10 a.m. Wednesday. The reason has not been made public yet, but it is possible that Altman could be selected to helm Petersburg at that meeting.
