Verner fires director of solid waste disposal

Spokane’s solid waste director was fired this month after barely a year on the job.

Mollie Mangerich was named the director by former Mayor Dennis Hession. But her appointment in December 2006 was controversial, and the City Council vote ratifying Hession’s choice was 4-3.

Mayor Mary Verner fired Mangerich Feb. 15.

“She gets along with most people, but did not seem to have quite the interrelationship at waste-to-power that we’re looking for,” said Verner’s chief of staff, Mark Earley, referring to the city’s trash incinerator, the Waste-to-Energy Plant.

Attempts made to reach Mangerich were unsuccessful.

Mangerich was hired as the solid waste director, who manages garbage pickup within city limits, and the leader of the city-run Spokane Regional Solid Waste System, which disposes trash collected countywide. Last month, Verner announced that she was separating the two jobs and that Mangerich would lead the regional system.

Mangerich came to Spokane after serving as the operations supervisor for the solid waste system in Lawrence, Kan. Council members who voted against her appointment said the job should have gone to Monica Bramble, who was the interim director and was ranked higher by Hession’s selection committee.

Verner has selected Russ Menke, a consulting engineer, to serve as the interim regional director. Menke helped lead the process in the late 1980s and early 1990s that led to the county and city deciding to build the incinerator instead of relying on landfills. He said he’ll apply for the job.

Mangerich earned $99,159 a year. Menke is earning the same figure, but the city might reduce the amount because of the separation in duties, said Dave Chandler, Spokane’s human resources director.