The council and city attorney said Monday that Brent Bluth has indicated he is not interested in returning as administrative-services director - a position 3rd District Judge Kate Toomey ruled a month ago was rightfully his.

As a result, Bluffdale probably will cut ties formally with Bluth tonight by voting on a severance package that would release him. The council then would shift its focus to help Mayor Claudia Anderson pick a replacement for the hotly contested position.

The southwest Salt Lake County city has been operating without an acting director for a month, since Toomey ruled Anderson illegally appointed Dave Hogue for the job without the council's advice and consent.

Bluffdale has been without a permanent director since January, when Anderson fired Bluth for the second time. Toomey likewise overturned that move, using the same reasoning - that Anderson needed the council's approval before firing a director.

Word of Bluth's intent spread through attorneys who have been negotiating the severance pay. It disappointed council members who hoped he would return, but Councilman Jesse Kelley said he wasn't surprised Bluth didn't want to come back to a "poisoned atmosphere" after Anderson had fired him on separate occasions.

Bluth could not be reached for comment Monday, and Anderson did not return phone calls.

But council members agreed they would miss Bluth's presence and knowledge.

"He was a real asset to our city," Councilwoman Martha Speed said. "It is a serious loss. Certainly I'm disappointed, but I understand why he doesn't want to subject himself to the mayor's treatment."

Councilwoman Nancy Lord said Bluth's departure comes at a particularly difficult time as Bluffdale approaches budget season.

"Not one person in City Hall knows the budget like Brent did - nobody," Lord said. "We just need his expertise on these things, but we haven't had that now for months."

City Attorney Todsd Weiler said Bluffdale still is negotiating Bluth's severance package, which likely would include as much as six months' back salary, benefits, unpaid vacation and health insurance.

Speed said that could carry a price tag in the neighborhood of $60,000, but Weiler said he thought it would be less.

Speed said Anderson has not yet interviewed potential replacements but added that the mayor had indicated she would discuss the applicants tonight with the council.

In the meantime, Kelley said Bluffdale will be all right with the current staff.

"I'm going to miss him," Kelley said. "He was a really good man. But we've got some able people there now."

sgehrke@sltrib.com