July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
City employees sign suit settlement (09/28/06)
By By RACHELLE HAUGHN-
Several city employees suing the city and its mayor for reprimands received after the funeral of a city official have a settlement in the case.
Four Portland Wastewater Treatment Plant employees who filed the suit signed a settlement agreement Wednesday in the case against mayor Bruce Hosier and the city of Portland.
If Hosier signs the settlement offer, a letter of reprimand will be removed from the files of Brelsford and three other plant employees who were part of the suit - Crystal Chapman, Dean Chapman and Dave McGraw.
"We basically got what we wanted," Bob Brelsford, plant superintendent, said this morning. "That's what we were after," Brelsford said.
The agreement calls for each side in the case to pay its own attorney fees.
The employees were reprimanded by Hosier for not attending the mandatory calling hours and funeral of clerk-treasurer Barbara Blackford in July of 2005. Brelsford was written up for not reprimanding his employees, some of whom attended either the calling or funeral, but not both.
Wayne E. Uhl, an Indianapolis attorney representing Hosier and the city in the suit, said Wednesday afternoon he was unaware that the plaintiffs had signed the agreement and declined comment on when Hosier might also sign the settlement agreement.
A message left for Hosier requesting comment was not returned by late this morning.
The suit was filed June 23 in Jay Superior Court.
Besides seeking to have the letters of reprimand removed, the employees also asked for compensation for damages, punitive damages, costs in relation to the suit and attorney fees.
Brelsford said he would have liked to have the attorney fees paid by Hosier or the city, but "It's also nice to have that behind you too."
The settlement also relieves the defendants from paying other damages and costs related to the suit.
A motion for dismissal of the case was made on Hosier's behalf on Aug. 18. Uhl said the motion was filed because he didn't think the plaintiffs had a legal claim in the case.
The dismissal request contended that the suit never stated whether the employees were suing Hosier personally or as the mayor.
Hosier reprimanded the wastewater employees for not attending services for Blackford - an action that was upheld by the Portland Board of Works in an appeal filed by the employees.
Hosier had issued a memo to city department heads stating that attendance was "mandatory."
According to an audit conducted by the Indiana State Board of Accounts, employees were given a half-day off work on July 22 to compensate for attendance at the calling that day and the funeral the next day.
The Jay County Prosecutor's office received the audit report Wednesday afternoon.
The report refers to ghost employment, a class D felony, after an explanation of the circumstances of the incident.
Hosier has said he disagrees with the report's findings.
No other errors or irregularities were found in the latest audit of the city of Portland.[[In-content Ad]]
Four Portland Wastewater Treatment Plant employees who filed the suit signed a settlement agreement Wednesday in the case against mayor Bruce Hosier and the city of Portland.
If Hosier signs the settlement offer, a letter of reprimand will be removed from the files of Brelsford and three other plant employees who were part of the suit - Crystal Chapman, Dean Chapman and Dave McGraw.
"We basically got what we wanted," Bob Brelsford, plant superintendent, said this morning. "That's what we were after," Brelsford said.
The agreement calls for each side in the case to pay its own attorney fees.
The employees were reprimanded by Hosier for not attending the mandatory calling hours and funeral of clerk-treasurer Barbara Blackford in July of 2005. Brelsford was written up for not reprimanding his employees, some of whom attended either the calling or funeral, but not both.
Wayne E. Uhl, an Indianapolis attorney representing Hosier and the city in the suit, said Wednesday afternoon he was unaware that the plaintiffs had signed the agreement and declined comment on when Hosier might also sign the settlement agreement.
A message left for Hosier requesting comment was not returned by late this morning.
The suit was filed June 23 in Jay Superior Court.
Besides seeking to have the letters of reprimand removed, the employees also asked for compensation for damages, punitive damages, costs in relation to the suit and attorney fees.
Brelsford said he would have liked to have the attorney fees paid by Hosier or the city, but "It's also nice to have that behind you too."
The settlement also relieves the defendants from paying other damages and costs related to the suit.
A motion for dismissal of the case was made on Hosier's behalf on Aug. 18. Uhl said the motion was filed because he didn't think the plaintiffs had a legal claim in the case.
The dismissal request contended that the suit never stated whether the employees were suing Hosier personally or as the mayor.
Hosier reprimanded the wastewater employees for not attending services for Blackford - an action that was upheld by the Portland Board of Works in an appeal filed by the employees.
Hosier had issued a memo to city department heads stating that attendance was "mandatory."
According to an audit conducted by the Indiana State Board of Accounts, employees were given a half-day off work on July 22 to compensate for attendance at the calling that day and the funeral the next day.
The Jay County Prosecutor's office received the audit report Wednesday afternoon.
The report refers to ghost employment, a class D felony, after an explanation of the circumstances of the incident.
Hosier has said he disagrees with the report's findings.
No other errors or irregularities were found in the latest audit of the city of Portland.[[In-content Ad]]
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