Person: I'm resigning

Gary Person, Sidney's city manager for the past 16 years, will resign at Tuesday night's city council meeting.

"I am not being asked to resign," Person said when reached by phone at his office Thursday morning.

Person has been embroiled in controversy over the past several months related to a January 2014 incident that involved a city employee and, then ultimately, the Sidney police chief.

Person said he informed city employees at a meeting on Thursday that he would be submitting his resignation at the next council meeting.

"I wanted to tell them eyeball to eyeball," he said. "They deserved that.

"I will make a public statement at the meeting and it will stand for itself," Person added. "I'll make it in a positive manner. I don't want to speak off the cuff before that, and I want to take the high road."

The city manager's position is appointed by the city council for an indefinite period of time. That person serves as the chief executive officer of the city in charge of the day-to-day administrative functions, its departments and its personnel.

Person became Sidney's 14th city manager in 1999.

"Serving 16 years in that role is not an easy task," he said.

Mayor Mark Nienhueser said Thursday that he was aware of Person's decision.

"We're aware that he's planning to do that and it'll be on the agenda for Tuesday," Nienhueser said. "He has offered it and we'll take it under consideration at the meeting."

Person marks the second high-ranking city official to leave their post in a week.

The city's public services director, John Hehnke, was fired by Person on Tuesday. A third employee, police chief B.J. Wilkinson, could have his fate decided at Tuesday's council meeting.

Hehnke, Wilkinson and Person have been on the hotseat for several months, and the city council has met in executive session four times this month. Discussion in those sessions are privileged under Nebraska statutes, but those closed-door meetings are generally where employment status is discussed.

On Jan. 29, 2014, a Sidney Police officer responded to a residence for a report of suspicious activity. The resident told police her former boyfriend, Hehnke, had been outside her house looking in the windows.

After interviewing Hehnke, the officer issued him a citation. However, Wilkinson removed that citation and never sent the case to the Cheyenne County Attorney's Office.

Earlier this year, the Nebraska State Patrol began an investigation into the incident and charges were brought against both Hehnke and Wilkinson.

In April, Hehnke pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of disturbing the peace and paid a $300 fine.

Last month, Wilkinson pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of obstructing government operations and was sentenced to 30 days in jail. He has since filed an appeal, which is due to be heard in court Sept. 28. He is currently on paid administrative leave.

In an interview with the NSP, Wilkinson said he removed the citation for the "benefit of the city and the benefit of the man's career."

Person is a native Western Nebraskan and raised on a farm/ranch near the Wyoming border.

He has served as the city-county economic development director since 1991. He also has spent 12 years on the Nebraska League of Municipalities Legislative Committee and 20 years on the Panhandle Area Development District Board of Directors.

He was recognized in 2011 by the International City-County Managers Association for his 20 years of municipal administrative service to local government.

Person has previously served as director of the Western Office of the Governor, Western Nebraska's field representative for the Nebraska Department of Economic Development, manager of the Cheyenne County Chamber of Commerce, deputy director with High Plains Development and as the editor of three different newspapers.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Nebraska-Kearney and an associate degree from Nebraska Western College.