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<\/p>\nIn a mostly empty town hall chamber, after a lone person offered public comment calling on the town to pledge protection for constituents from ICE and CBP followed by a hearing on sign regulations, Erie Mayor Andrew Moore looked calm and cool as he began the proceedings to move the meeting to executive session.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cPoint of order,\u201d a calm voice interrupted. Addressing the Mayor, Councilwoman Emily Baer continued. \u201cI would like to discuss the town manager\u2019s review in the public meeting rather than in executive session.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Flustered, Mayor Moore shifted in his seat, turned toward Malcolm asking if this was alright. Malcolm, without batting an eye, responded, \u201cYes, I\u2019m comfortable with that happening in a public meeting.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Forty-five minutes later, the gavel restarted the public meeting for a conversation intended to happen in executive privacy. For the second time in the first year of his term, Mayor Andrew Moore would make the case for firing town manager Malcom Fleming.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Previously catching the rest of the town council off guard during an earlier meeting, the decision was made to table the conversation until another time, when the members could be more prepared to make an informed decision.\n<\/p>\n
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Erie Town Manager Malcolm Fleming is described in his HR evaluation as one who \u201coften pushes staff to challenge their status quo, which drives innovation, and he\u2019s always open to and excited by new ideas.\u201d (Town of Erie Headshot)<\/p>\n
This time, with less than a day\u2019s notice, the council received communication via email from Mayor Moore that they would again be bringing the matter to executive session the following evening. A performance evaluation \u2013 referred to as Fleming\u2019s 360 \u2013 had been conducted.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Mayor Moore and Mr. Fleming had access to the 360, some members of the council did not until only a few hours before the conversation began, others wouldn\u2019t see the document until the following day.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cHe provided us an email about 24 hours before the meeting, and that is not adequate time,\u201d Erie Town Councilman Dan Hoback told Yellow Scene. \u201cThe manager\u2019s evaluation did not come from him; it came from the town manager himself. And [the Mayor] kept that in his hip pocket, and he didn\u2019t send it until the next day. The day after the council meeting\u2026 I thought that was very underhanded on the part of the mayor.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Opening the now public conversation, Mayor Moore cited his reasons for why Fleming should be terminated, reading from a statement he\u2019d prepared for his colleagues.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cLeadership by omission \u2013 whether intentional or not \u2013 creates a situation in which I cannot effectively preside over our meetings. Getting caught off guard on the County Line to Airport Drive visibility scope, the $19M parks and open space facility, the Redtail Ranch information for the public not being disseminated, misinformation about the use of ARPID funds, and council volunteers being excluded from the holiday party are just some of the more recent challenges.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
Erie\u2019s Mayor read for several minutes, first from his email requesting the conversation and then from what would have been his opening address to Council in executive session, concluding that he believed there had been an ongoing\u00a0 lack of communication on Fleming\u2019s part and little else.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe thing is, see, everything looks so childish now,\u201d Councilman Pesaramelli told Yellow Scene. \u201cHe doesn\u2019t have any points because we brought it on the record and not between the four walls [executive session]. In the four walls, when this topic came up,[the Mayor] didn\u2019t have a consensus that Malcolm should be fired\u2026 And what would have happened in that four walls is unimaginable.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe mayor has wanted to get rid of him now since day one,\u201d Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene Magazine. \u201cHe came into office wanting to get rid of him, and I think it is probably because he is ideologically out of alignment.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Before joining the city staff, Fleming spent over ten years as city manager for Louisville and as interim city manager for Manitou before that. He was appointed to the role in Erie in January 2019\n<\/p>\n
Yellow Scene Magazine obtained a copy of Mr. Fleming\u2019s 360 evaluation, which he said from the dais he was comfortable seeing published. In it we see a portrait of an absolutely adequate employee, referred to as a consummate professional, constantly calm presence, and consistently informed manager.\n<\/p>\n
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A screenshot of the first page of the human resources 360 report for colleague feedback for Mr. Fleming.<\/p>\n
The anonymous reflections assert that he is knowledgeable, experienced, and committed to exploring every avenue even if it means trying something new. Always room for improvement, it is noted that he sometimes lapses in communication, though regularly producing a cumulative and comprehensive \u2013 if delayed \u2013 response.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
A five out of five star rated employee in \u201ccontributing to a positive and inclusive work culture,\u201d he manages a complex system of public and private bureaucracies facilitating connections and the sharing of resources.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n
\u201cThe amount of information that flows from the community, businesses, regional partners and Council is significant and overwhelming at times,\u201d one 360 reflection of Fleming reads. It continues the he should seek improvement in maintaining the flow of information because \u201cthis Council is more impatient than others.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
Despite the metaphorical firehose from which he drinks, the HR report speaks of a competent employee with an above average performance and below average need for improvement. One with whom so many in the city find ease in maintaining a professional relationship, Mayor Moore not counted amongst them.\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIf things are done for the betterment of the town, I\u2019m all for it,\u201d Councilman Pesaramelli told Yellow Scene. \u201cBut when you come with things like erasing DEI or the scare tactics, we can be a model and let other towns know Erie did this. We stood up<\/a> against national bullying.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Councilman Pesaramelli, Councilman Hoback, and Councilwoman Baer were upset that Moore came to this conclusion by himself, when council is meant to decide something this important together. When informed there would be a decision made despite protest, the three council members all voted no on terminating Fleming\u2019s position.\n<\/p>\n \u201cWhy is this going into a rush?\u201d Councilman Pesaramelli mused during a followup conversation. \u201cWe already talked about it, and there was no consensus from the council for him to move to the next step or do another executive session.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Some would discuss Mayor Moore\u2019s insistence on adherence only on background, others commented openly on the parallels as they perceived them.\n<\/p>\n \u201cHe keeps saying he\u2019s not MAGA, but he runs Council like he is,\u201d Councilman Dan Hoback said to Yellow Scene Magazine.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n A screenshot of Erie Town Manager Malcolm Fleming\u2019s Council Feedback Form, indicating the average of all five members of Erie\u2019s Town Council\u2019s ratings for various professional metrics.<\/p>\n Authoritarian overreach continues to grow as a standard in civics conversations. Federally, the Trump Administration demonstrates<\/a> the ability for unscrupulous leaders to demand their directors change reports \u2013 and disavows<\/a> those which won\u2019t \u2013 to match policy positions. The same tactics some allege are used by Mayor Moore.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cStaff can hear the mayor yelling at Malcolm through the walls even when the door is closed,\u201d reads the 360. \u201cMalcolm stays focused and professional and speaks clearly and directly.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n In line with the strong man caricature some politicians project, complaints continue that Mayor Moore will bully employees, becoming increasingly frustrated when facts don\u2019t fit his narrative, and asserting aggression to accomplish his ends.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are hurting. People are afraid of losing their jobs,\u201d Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene. \u201cPeople are afraid and they don\u2019t want to engage with him.\u201d\n<\/p>\n When negotiating his most recent contract, Fleming was faced with the difficult decision of forgoing protected severance in exchange for a standard raise. With the possibility that a newly-elected leader with a well-known intention of focusing on raising homeowners\u2019 property value may replace him, Fleming was forced to concede his safety net.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \u201cOne of his first courses of action was to basically force Malcolm to renegotiate his contract and lower his severance package, essentially,\u201d Councilman Hoback told Yellow Scene. \u201cThe mayor said, \u2018You will either reduce your severance package from twelve months to six months, or you won\u2019t get a salary increase this year at all.\u2019 Malcolm\u2019s already severely underpaid for our region.\u201d\n<\/p>\n Under the new contract, Fleming would receive 6-months of his salary, about<\/a> $182,688, a direct cost to the taxpayers for the town manager\u2019s replacement. Compensated well below<\/a> the mean for this position, his replacement could start at a salary closer to Longmont\u2019s $242,902 or Lafayette\u2019s $190,800.\n<\/p>\n Some members of Town Council and Mayor Moore did not respond to requests for comment before publication.\n<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Screenshot-2026-02-16-at-7.25.28-PM-225x300.png\")
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