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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
Case Study Critique: The Oakdale Administration
Kimberly A. Wolford
Helms School of Government, Liberty University
Author Note
Kimberly A. Wolford
I have no known conflict of interest to disclose.
Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Kimberly A. Wolford
Email: kwolford4@liberty.edu
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
Overview
The city of Oakdale is a suburb of a medium-sized town. The town has been struggling with
poverty, and to compete with other municipalities for revenue and business developments. This
case study explains the scandal involving a mayor and city administrator who were found guilty
of violating state ethics laws. In this critique, I will dissect the facts of the case, the Oakdale
Board of Aldermen's decision, and give a short commentary on two alternative solutions that
may benefit the city of Oakdale further.
Facts of the Case
In 1941, Oakdale's city became a chartered municipality (Cropf, Giancola & Loutzenhiser,
2012). The administrative structure established has remained the same without change since that
time (Cropf et al., 2013). This structure included a Mayor and Board of Aldermen to oversee all
the city's financial and administrative actions. The town is relatively small, with 5,000 citizens,
and is considered a lower-middle-class (Cropf et al., 2013). Many citizens view Oakdale as
somewhat of an eyesore because of dilapidated neighborhoods, outdated retail shops, and a
worn-out business district (Cropf et al., 2013). According to the city's auditors, Oakdale's budget
was $3.5 million in 2008 (Cropf et al., 2013).
Some citizens living on the dividing line between neighboring Silver Lake City and Oakdale
have gone so far as to claim that they are Silver Lake City residents (Cropf et al., 2013). Silver
Lake City is a more prosperous town with over 7,000 citizens and a budget of approximately
$6.7 million a year (Cropf et al., 2013). Oakdale has fallen behind Silver Lake City and other
municipalities in revenue and expenditures (Cropf et al., 2013).
In 2003, Ernie Hoffnagel was elected mayor of Oakdale (Cropf et al., 2013). A former
salesman and member of the Board of Aldermen, Hoffnagel focused his campaign on Oakdale's
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
revitalization (Cropf et al., 2013). He promised to begin enforcing zoning and development
codes and bring new and improved businesses into Oakdale (Cropf et al., 2013). Upon election,
Mayor Hoffnagel terminated the entire administrative staff and replaced them with his friends
and associates. His most controversial choice was to appoint Angela Denny as the city manager.
Ms. Denny had worked for no less than eight other municipalities within the previous 12 years
(Cropf et al., 2013). She had been investigated repeatedly and cited with two public censures
(Cropf et al., 2013).
When the citizens of Oakdale learned of Ms. Denny's past, they immediately called for her to
resign. They did not trust her to have Oakdale's best interest (Cropf et al., 2013). Mayor
Hoffnagel argued that he had made the right decision in appointing Denny by claiming that her
actions were not criminal and that she had acknowledged her mistakes (Cropf et al., 2013). He
claimed that her actions were caused by her "over-eagerness to reform" and her "desire to
improve lives (Cropf et al., 2013)."
Before the mayoral election, the process toward the building of a new city center had begun.
Upon election, the mayor pushed for quicker completion. In a rushed meeting, Mayor Hoffnagel
made a unilateral decision to have the city manager issue requests for proposals (RFPs) for a
construction project manager (Cropf et al., 2013). After only a week, Donny announced that she
had signed a contract with a project manager and an architect. The Board of Aldermen were
shocked as they were expecting a longer process. The Board of Aldermen, the Economic
Development and Planning and Zoning Committees wanted to ensure that all RFPs were treated
fairly and received the best price for the service (Cropf et al., 2013).
Ms. Donny did not turn over the RFPs to the Board of Aldermen. Two independent firms were
called into assessing the feasibility of the project; however, by the time they completed their
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
investigations, two properties were purchased for $4.2 million (Cropf et al., 2013). This placed
Oakdale in severe financial trouble.
The Board of Aldermen immediately moved to terminate the project and sell the properties due
to growing mistrust of Donny; however, the Citizens Review Board (CRB) called to complete
the task to gain economic growth and revenue streams Mayor Hoffnagel had promised (Cropf et
al., 2013). Mayor Hoffnagel denounced the findings of these investigations as "misleading" and
"inaccurate."
Decision
Due to the shady actions of city administrator Angela Donny, the ICMA Committee on
Professional Conduct launched an investigation into all practices related to the revitalization
project. After a few weeks, this investigation revealed that Donny had failed to ascertain and
distribute the proper number of RFPs before entering into a contract.
She also employed individuals unqualified for their positions and behaved in what the committee
described as an "unethical manner (Cropf et al., 2013)." Upon the completion of this
investigation, Donny was terminated from her position. Following her termination, Mayor
Hoffnagel resigned. The community was distraught and entirely without the city government
(Cropf et al., 2013).
The Board of Aldermen appointed an interim mayor and city administrator in June 2004 until
the election in 2006. Marie Clarkson, their choice for acting mayor, had previously served as a
city administrator and mayor of a small city in Minnesota. She had been retired for nearly ten
years, working as a realtor, and recommended by Alderman Hauser (Cropf et al., 2013). The
board appointed Paul Asher, a man without much experience other than an internship under a
previous city administrator, as interim city administrator. These new appointees' goal was to gain
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
the community's trust and determine whether or not to continue with the revitalization project
(Cropf et al., 2013).
Asher was faced with two choices: 1.) to move forward with the project but start over at the
beginning of the process or 2.) terminate the project and sell the properties (Cropf et al., 2013).
Asher believed if he continued with redevelopment, the town's morale would increase, the
chance to keep and attract local businesses would rise, and the city government could regain their
citizens' trust. However, he also considered the financial burden the projected placed on Oakdale.
There was a possibility of making budget cuts to the police department, the public works
department, or both (Cropf et al., 2013).
Decision Analysis
I believe that the Board of Aldermen made the appropriate decision. The Oakdale
Administration was in serious need of transparency. The actions of Angela Denny were
unethical, and she used her position of power for personal gain. The firing of Ms. Denny and
appointing an experienced mayor and qualified city administrator allowed the city to "attack" the
redevelopment project's situation from a direct angle. Although the case study does not give the
ultimate decision of whether the revitalization project continued; however, I am led to believe
that the citizens and the Board of Aldermen would push to complete the project.
Alternative Solutions
The city of Cape Charles, Virginia, was faced with similar poverty, too high unemployment
rates, and a budget of $3.2 million when they wanted to begin a revitalization project in their
community (Lambe, 2008). Instead of handling the project completely internally, the
administration requested citizen volunteers to aid in the decision-making process (Lambe, 2008).
The citizens of Cape Charles were eager to participate and even approved a $4.6 million bond to
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
put toward the project. The government realized that the process was as important as the
outcome (Lambe, 2008). I believe if the Oakdale Administration would have reached out to their
citizens for involvement, the process may have been more efficient.
Another possible solution would be to follow the footsteps of the administration of Big Stone
Gap, Virginia. When they experienced over 20% unemployment rates and decreased revenue, the
administration allied with the local community college to use eco-tourism to attract new business
and increase revenue (Lambe, 2008). They found that they must look within themselves and
"what it had to offer" before planning anything else (Lambe, 2008). Oakdale could have used this
process, as the case study mentioned a local university.
Conclusion
This case study shows the importance of implementing community involvement in projects
designed to revitalize a struggling municipality. In the Oakdale Administration case, an essential
step in completing the much-needed project is to fire Donny's project manager and architect.
This will ensure that all proper procedures are followed and that the appropriate level of
transparency is maintained. I also believe that once the community members are engaged with
making their town better, they will be more likely to approve levies and fundraising efforts.
The main goal of the Oakdale Administration should now be to regain the public's trust. They
should also consider a partnership between the local university and the Citizens Review Board to
look at itself and what the city offers before taking on any other projects. This would ensure that
the project and its rewards are appropriate for Oakdale and its citizens.
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CASE STUDY CRITIQUE: THE OAKDALE ADMINISTRATION
References
Cropf, R., Giancola, J., & Loutzenhiser, K. (2012). The Public Administration Casebook. Upper
Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
Lambe, W. (2008). Small Towns Big Ideas: Case Studies in Small Town Community Economic
Development: Chapel Hill: UNC School of Government.
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