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The city of Scottsdale is on the verge a major shakeup that could leave City Manager John Little looking for a new gig.
With Arizona’s unemployment rate hovering around 9.1 percent, good luck.
The Scottsdale City Council will meet Tuesday to give Little his six-month review, and even Little seems to know what’s coming.
“We’re doing good work in the toughest economic times anyone has ever experienced,” Little tells the Arizona Republic. “I really do want to be here for that. But that’s out of my control, and I’m OK with that, too. I take the job understanding that there are some things that will be out of my control.”
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Little was pegged as acting city manager in April 2008 and given the permanent spot back in February of this year after a 20 year career working with the city.
Little was not what you would call a team player.
In May, Little was criticized over his handling of a city retirement-incentive program and how he communicated costs to other city officials.
Little was also not on board with the majority of the City ouncil when it came to cutting the city budget. The city manager wanted to use money from the city’s capital improvement fund to balance the budget, a move deemed too bureaucratic for the council’s conservative wing.
Whether he stays or goes, at least the guy understands the fundamental economic principle that you can’t spend more money than you take in; that’s more than we can say about most of the clowns running the state right now.
