By Mindy Ragan Wood
Staff Writer
When new town board members told voters change was coming, they had more on their minds than electronic services and a website.
Less than two weeks after taking office, board members voted unanimously to sever ties with Town Administrator Richard Raupe and eliminate his position. Duties of town business will revert to members of the town board, mayor and clerk.
Raupe took his seat at the beginning of the meeting with a flushed face and spoke to the board with a sharp tone of voice.
“I want to know who called this meeting,” he demanded.
Raupe asked Town Mayor Jeff Sadler and town board member Joe Frisby if they had called the meeting to which they replied no.
“I called the meeting,” town board member Matt Blackwood said.
Raupe took exception to the fact that Blackwood shared his contract with “the paper.”
“You shared my contract with the paper, was that just for background for her story?” he asked.
Blackwood said he had no idea about the article which was published in The Okarche Warrior.
“I’m sorry I didn’t see it,” he said.
Raupe complained that he did not see an open records request for his salary details. The Okarche Warrior inquired about his salary, which is public record, last year to compare it to other city managers in Canadian County. Raupe earns $70,000 a year in addition to a pension and other benefits.
The board quickly moved to convene in executive session.
“Do you want me in here for this?” Raupe asked.
“No,” Sadler replied.
The board returned from executive session one hour later and voted to terminate the town administrator’s contract and deleted the position.
“When can I pick up my check?” Raupe asked.
He was mistaken about the remainder of his salary which he believed would be paid in one “lump sum,” but learned it would be paid for salary, pension and health benefits during a four-month period and a lump sum for any remaining compensation due by July 1.
As the board proceeded with other matters, Raupe stood up from the table and announced he was leaving. The Okarche Warrior asked if he had any comment on the board’s decision.
“No, I guess I don’t,” he said.
Following the meeting, few in the audience commented.
“Change has happened,” James Nance said of the board’s decision.
Sadler said the responsibilities Raupe held have been assigned to the board. Raupe was the code inspector, managed employees, held positions on several county government boards like the Northern Oklahoma Development Authority and Central Oklahoma Water Resources Board.
“This town doesn’t really need a full-time code inspector,” Sadler said. “Maybe we can hire somebody part time if it’s necessary.”
WHERE IT BEGAN
When Raupe was hired by the town board in early February 2016 citizens objected to a move many felt was less than transparent. The decision changed the town board government so that the daily operations of the town fell to a town administrator instead of the board and mayor.
Raupe told the Okarche Warrior that he resigned as mayor in January 2016 and was hired the following month. He said the town spoke to several candidates including Yukon’s then-city manager Grayson Bottom about the position. Bottom was fired as city manager on suspicion of embezzlement in December 2015.
Bottom was present for the meeting on January 25.
Seven days later on Feb. 2, Raupe submitted his resignation letter after having been mayor for 15 of 23 years he served on the board. He worked at the time for the federal prison in El Reno as a contract teacher.
A special meeting was held Feb. 4, 2016 to accept his letter of resignation and hire him as the town administrator. It passed unanimously by then-board members Linda Miller and Mike Mendel.
Some citizens were opposed to the decision that changed their town government. Ken Smith spoke out against the board’s decision on Feb. 29, 2016.
“This just wasn’t handled right,” Smith told the board. “It should have been brought to the judgement of the people.”
Mendell replied that Raupe would save the town money in grants that would more than pay for the salary. In 2018, the town received $700,000 in a Transportation Alternatives Program to rehab the road, streetlights and sidewalks on Oklahoma Avenue.
Raupe had written grants for the town before he was hired as administrator, but he told the Okarche Warrior last week being mayor was a full-time job he had been doing for free.
