The city’s emergency management director will be back in City Hall for a pre-termination review today, the same day an external report into the failure of the tornado warning sirens to sound on May 16 is set to be finalized. Russell has been on leave for nearly three months.
Russell, who uses they/them pronouns and has endured a torrent of online vitriol, broke their public silence on social media last week, seemingly criticizing the city’s disciplinary process, writing, “My experiences tell me that it doesn’t matter what I say, it hasn’t mattered since the tornado hit, and it didn’t matter before that. It hasn’t mattered what I said in meetings, it hasn’t mattered what I said in budget hearings, or any other place I have spoken with this leadership.”
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Mayor Cara Spencer’s putting Russell on leave stems from both the sirens’ failure and subsequent revelations that CEMA staff was at an off-site training on May 16. Spencer has said that Russell’s order to the Fire Department to sound the sirens during their absence was ambiguous. At a press conference Friday, Spencer called any insinuation that Russell’s disciplinary process has been a foregone conclusion “unfortunate.”
Why It Matters: The administration has said that the external investigation into the sirens’ failure is geared toward trying to prevent a repeat of the mistake rather than “looking for wrongdoing.” Russell wrote in their post, “I’ve not heard mention of the external report at this time.” Spencer said it should be finalized Monday, adding, “I’m assuming that Sarah would have access to that around that time.” The mayor added that the report would be made available to the public as well.
An Open Question: It’s unknown how Russell’s own statements in the wake of the tornado will factor into any investigation or disciplinary action. On May 18, Russell indicated it was an open question about whether city sirens sounded. Less than two days later, Spencer stated the sirens had failed and put Russell on leave.
What’s Next: Russell wrote that within two weeks of today’s hearing, the city’s director of Public Safety will decide on one of three outcomes: Russell gets fired, remains employed, or remains employed with a reprimand.
