Auburn has a problem.

No, we don’t mean the property tax revaluation that has so many people in an uproar, although there are plenty of good reasons to question the way it has been handled. And no, we don’t mean the way the city council has continued to support a parking garage despite crowd demands to end the public funding for the project.

From the outside, it looks like there’s something wrong inside that’s driving people away.

The denials all line up according to recognizable script: New opportunities, spend more time with the family, time to retire and enjoy life. No harsh words, no parting shots, no bridges burned.

But the list of notables who have left city jobs would draw anyone’s attention.

The latest is Finance Director Ronald Farris, who’s been in the job only since April. Farris will return to the Finance Authority of Maine in January to fill a new position. He urged FAME to create the job and says he’s excited about it. He’s even taking a cut in pay to make it happen.

If Farris’ departure were an isolated incident, we’d be more confident that we’re hearing the full story. People change careers all the time, and for the right opportunity many of them are willing to take a reduced salary.

Assistant City Manager Mark Adams resigned in July 2004 to take a job with the Maine Turnpike Authority. Adams was a significant member of the city’s leadership team. He worked to bring the Hilton Garden Hotel to the city, to develop Auburn Hall and Festival Plaza and was the lead negotiator in contentious labor disputes with the fire and police departments. When he left, he said his new job would give him more time with his family.

There have been others, including Tax Assessor Joe Downey, former Finance Director Jill Eastman and Planning and Permitting Director Lee Jay Feldman. Hardly an exodus, but a significant loss of institutional knowledge and experience.

City Manager Pat Finnigan, despite support from a majority of the city council and mayor, has remained in the cross hairs of city activists for years. She has been targeted as the source of many of the city’s problems, and a minority of city councilors has remained consistently critical of her work. Some of the criticism – maybe most of it – seems unfair, but perhaps that’s the nature of a very public job.

Tackling difficult issues takes its toll on city staffers, who don’t always receive the appreciation they deserve. Brutal labor fights, difficult budget cycles and the constant demands to do more – provide better and more comprehensive services with less money – are enough to make anyone look for different work.

The city will struggle if it continues to lose top-notch talent, and it could find it difficult to replace them while uncertainty and rebellion swirl in air.