- Quincy city commissioners voted 3-2 to immediately terminate City Manager Rob Nixon, just moments after agreeing to conduct leadership evaluations by September 30.
- The mention made by Commissioner Lane Stephens under a rarely used charter rule, has sparked mixed reactions from neighbors—some calling it necessary change, others calling it destabilizing.
- Watch the video to hear from both Nixon and Stephens
FINAL UPDATED BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT
By the end of Tuesday night’s Quincy City Commission meeting, in a move that stunned some and satisfied others, commissioners voted 3-2 to fire City Manager Rob Nixon—effective immediately.
“I don’t think it was any secret that it was coming up. It was not on the agenda for a reason that we didn’t control.”
Commissioner Lane Stephens made the motion under Section 2.71 of the city’s ordinances, which allows commissioners to suspend standard rules of procedure to take immediate action.
“Our community wants change. I was elected for change and another commissioner was elected for change, and sometimes that comes with a change in leadership.”
That vote came just after a public hearing May 27th on Nixon’s possible removal—a hearing required by the city charter.
Earlier that night, commissioners had voted to move forward with performance evaluations for the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney—setting a deadline of September 30th. But what began as a call for oversight quickly shifted into termination.
I reached out to Rob Nixon for comment. In a statement, he said:
“I am truly grateful for having had the opportunity to serve the citizens of Quincy. I thank all of the employees of the City for their hard work and support. I offer my sincere prayers for the city going forward.”
The decision has stirred strong opinions across the community.
Some neighbors I spoke to, who didn’t want to speak on camera, say this isn’t a good idea for the city right now—worried it creates more instability at a time when Quincy needs consistency.
Others told me this was the change that needed to happen, and they feel their voices are finally being heard.
Commissioners say they haven’t yet decided when to begin the search for a permanent replacement—but for now, Quincy Utilities Director Richard Ash is stepping in as interim city manager.
PREVIOUS STORY:
After weeks of back-and-forth over how and when to evaluate the city’s top leadership, Quincy commissioners voted Tuesday night to immediately terminate City Manager Rob Nixon.
The move came after Commissioner Lane Stephens made a motion to suspend standard procedural rules and act under Section 2.71 of the city charter to remove Nixon without further delay.
Lane Stephens stated under the authority of Section 2.71, to suspend the rules of order and terminate City Manager Rob Nixon, effective immediately.
The motion passed on a 3-2 vote:
- Dr. Nash – Yes
- Stephens – Yes
- Knight – Yes
- Dr. Wood – No
- Harris – No
The vote follows a May 27th public hearing on Nixon’s potential removal, a requirement under Section 3.02 of the city charter. That hearing ended in a deadlocked 2-2 vote with Commissioner Knight absent, leaving Nixon’s future uncertain.
Nixon’s employment contract had expired last year and had not been formally reviewed or renewed by the commission.
As part of the termination, Nixon will receive severance pay equal to eight weeks’ salary. Commissioners also appointed Richard Ash, director of Quincy Utilities, to serve as interim city manager.
This latest decision marks a significant shift in city leadership and comes amid a broader discussion about evaluating the performances of the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney. Those evaluations were originally scheduled to happen at a later date.
The commission did not immediately announce when the search for a permanent city manager will begin.
ORIGINAL BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
At Tuesday night's Quincy City Commission Meeting, city leaders discussed the timeline for evaluating the city manager, city clerk, and city attorney.
Commissioner Robin Wood brought this agenda item forward.
She also aimed to address confusion among neighbors stemming from past meetings about the city manager's employment status.
"This started last year, not today. Not when we were talking about dismissing the city manager. This is a process that started before all of that."
Wood explained that Quincy officials had already agreed in October to complete the evaluations by this June. At that time, they also selected the tool they would use to conduct those evaluations.
"The city manager has not had an evaluation, so my point is that we need to have one."
With two new commissioners, Lane Stephens and Devonte Knight, now on board,
Commissioner Ronte Harris suggested postponing the evaluations to allow the new members time to provide meaningful input.
"This would give our new commissioners a decent enough time to provide credible feedback on the evaluations."
The Commission voted 3-2 to delay the evaluations to a later date.
The Commission has until September 30th to wrap up the evaluations.
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