Village staff fired weeks after being out on leave
Details of allegations only listed for contracted law director; ousted village manager weighs legal action.
Three village of New Lebanon employees plus the contracted village law director, all of whom had been placed on administrative leave in February pending an internal investigation, were fired last week, just days after former Village Manager Glena Madden was officially ousted by council.
As Village Manager, Madden had reported directly to Village Council. The other employees had reported to Madden.
Interim Village Manager Rob Anderson on Friday issued identical letters of separation to Chief Financial Officer Phillip Hinson, Police Chief Curtis Hensley and Service Superintendent Scott Brock, notifying the three that their employment with the village was terminated effective at 5 p.m. that same day.
“This decision has been made following recent events at the village of New Lebanon, leading us to believe that it is in the best interest of both the village of New Lebanon and the citizenry at large that we serve to end our employment relationship,” the letters read.
Each letter states the decision to terminate was made “for cause,” but fails to cite specific contributing factors.
Special counsel Mike McNamee, who is leading the village’s internal investigation, declined to comment on the specifics regarding the termination of these employees, but said more information will be released in the future.
“The reasons for the for-cause determinations will be fully disclosed once special counsel’s investigation, and the state auditor’s investigation, is completed,” McNamee said.
Mayor David Nickerson issued a letter March 19 to the fourth worker, Law Director Ron Keener, notifying him that his services were no longer needed. Keener was recruited to work on a contracted basis and was not an officially designated employee of the village.
Keener’s separation letter includes a bit more detail, specifically referencing the ongoing investigation into the village’s administration, financial and legal departments. This inquiry was launched in February via a council-approved resolution introduced by Nickerson.
In the letter to Keener, Nickerson cites “legal and ethical standards” allegedly violated by former Village Manager Glena Madden, who was fired by council last Tuesday, asserting that Keener failed to bring violations to light.
“... (T)here was a failure to administer the duties expected of the law director effectively,” the letter reads. “The lack of appropriate legal advice and the failure to inform the village of potential misconduct, consistent failure to comply with the village’s charter, and the laws of Ohio has led us to a juncture where we must take decisive action to safeguard the interests of our community.”
The most recently fired employees have not yet been reached for comment by this news organization.
The votes to put all five people on administrative leave, and the vote to fire Madden, were 4-3 votes by village council, with Nickerson, Vice Mayor Nicole Adkins and councilmembers Melissa Sexton and Timothy Back voting in favor. Three of the four (all but Adkins) were elected in November. Councilmembers Tammy Loch, Gale Joy, and Lyndon Perkins voted against the measure.
Joy has argued that under the village’s charter and ordinances, Nickerson doesn’t have the authority to take the steps he has.
Christopher Sands, who ran unsuccessfully for village council last fall as a write-in candidate, said back in October that Back, Sexton and Nickerson had “a hidden agenda” and intended to fire the village manager and others.
Madden called her firing “illegal” and said that she was pursuing legal remedies. She called the investigation “a witch hunt” by “the mayor and his friends.”
Nickerson, on the other hand, said the preliminary findings were “more than what I expected,” adding that, “It just (solidifies) my drive to continue to do what needs to be done as a mayor to take care of my community.”