Pickerington city manager Tim Hansley has been dismissed from his duties as the city's top administrator.

His last day on the job was Wednesday, Oct. 21.

Hansley was hired as city manager in April 2008 after serving as Pickerington's development director since July 2006.

The dismissal came following an executive session held by Pickerington City Council after its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 20. According to multiple council members, the vote was 4-3 to dismiss Hansley, with members Mike Sabatino, Tricia Sanders, Brian Sauer and Brian Wisniewski supporting the move.

Council members Jeff Fix, Cristie Hammond and Keith Smith voted against firing Hansley.

Because the vote wasn't a super majority, Mayor Mitch O'Brien was called upon to make the deciding vote. He voted to dismiss Hansley, but declined to state the reason behind the move, other than to say there were "philosophical differences" between Hansley and "the majority of council."

"I have the utmost respect for him and the service he provided to the city," O'Brien said.

Hansley could not immediately be reached for comment.

Fix, council's president pro tempore, said the dismissal came after two groups of residents repeatedly expressed concerns over code enforcement issues. He said residents in the Simsbury subdivision were at odds with the city manager over his responsiveness to complaints about how boats and campers were being stored in the neighborhood.

Fix also said residents in the Long Road area were displeased about the upkeep of a home in their neighborhood.

"I don't know that there was a very legitimate reason for his dismissal," Fix said. "When you look at the breadth and body of Tim's work, he was very successful.

"Some of the issues a couple people had were with some code enforcement. That was about 2 percent of Tim's job."

Fix said Hansley was dismissed without being given a performance evaluation or the opportunity to "correct any perceived issues" residents and city officials had with him.

He also noted that a recent community survey found 63 percent of respondents thought Pickerington was "going in the right direction" and a recently approved city strategic plan cited the administrative staff as being a strength of the community.

"I think it was a significant mistake," Fix said of Tuesday's vote. "It just doesn't make sense.

"I've taken calls since this became public from community leaders throughout Pickerington and Fairfield County who all are stunned and dumbfounded and think this is a setback for the city."

Like O'Brien, Wisniewski declined to discuss the details of the dismissal, citing the executive session.

"There really were philosophical differences on where we were going," Wisniewski said. "There were definitely some people who were upset about treatment by staff and responsiveness, but I'm not going to comment on Tim and why he was let go."

Hansley was paid $105,000 in the first year of his three-year contract with Pickerington when he was hired as city manager. A request for his current salary information wasn't immediately returned.

He became interim city manager in January 2008 after his predecessor, Judith Gilleland, resigned.

Prior to coming to Pickerington, Hansley worked in Beavercreek, Conneaut, Tipp City, Lebanon and Dublin. He spent 14 years in Dublin, including several as city manager.