July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Dunkirk paying $10,000 to settle employee claim (03/08/06)
Dunkirk City Council
By By ROBERT BANSER-
DUNKIRK — A proposal to arrange payment for settlement of a complaint brought against the city by a former employee is scheduled to be the topic of discussion at a special meeting next week.
Action on the proposal to appropriate $10,000 from the city’s Rainy Day Fund to settle the matter was postponed by city council members during a special meeting Monday morning, pending review of the issue by the full council and the city attorney.
A special meeting will be held March 17, at 10 a.m. in Dunkirk City Hall.
The matter is related to the dismissal of a former employee, but no one connected with the city will detail the nature of the complaint.
Mayor Sam Hubbard said the matter had been previously reviewed in executive session and the city was already committed to a settlement. But Hubbard said city officials are not supposed to release any details, including the person’s name.
He added that a settlement figure had been agreed upon, and Monday morning’s meeting was only supposed to deal with release of money from the city’s Rainy Day Fund.
In the brief special session Monday, council members Craig Faulkner, Connie Whetsel and Tom Johnson, as well as Hubbard, agreed to postpone taking any action on the matter until the other two council members and city attorney William Hinkle were present.
City resident Pam Bunch asked Monday for a more detailed explanation, but Hubbard said that a “confidentiality statement” had been signed by city officials at the advice of the city attorney.
The Rainy Day Fund is the only source of revenue which the city has at its disposal to pay the settlement, Hubbard said.
He added, “It was good that we (the city and its insurance company) got it settled at this point and it didn’t go any further.”
On Monday, Bunch said she was not happy with the situation, and she asked if final action couldn’t be delayed until a full council was present as well as Hinkle.
Faulkner agreed to make a motion to that effect, and it was unanimously approved.
Hinkle said this morning that his presence was not requested at Monday’s meeting.
Monday’s council session and the executive session referred to by Hubbard may have violated Indiana’s Open Door Law regarding public access to government. A legal notice regarding the proposed additional appropriation from the Rainy Day Fund was published in The News & Sun, but no written notice or agenda for the meeting was provided as required by law. No notice was ever given for the executive session.
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Action on the proposal to appropriate $10,000 from the city’s Rainy Day Fund to settle the matter was postponed by city council members during a special meeting Monday morning, pending review of the issue by the full council and the city attorney.
A special meeting will be held March 17, at 10 a.m. in Dunkirk City Hall.
The matter is related to the dismissal of a former employee, but no one connected with the city will detail the nature of the complaint.
Mayor Sam Hubbard said the matter had been previously reviewed in executive session and the city was already committed to a settlement. But Hubbard said city officials are not supposed to release any details, including the person’s name.
He added that a settlement figure had been agreed upon, and Monday morning’s meeting was only supposed to deal with release of money from the city’s Rainy Day Fund.
In the brief special session Monday, council members Craig Faulkner, Connie Whetsel and Tom Johnson, as well as Hubbard, agreed to postpone taking any action on the matter until the other two council members and city attorney William Hinkle were present.
City resident Pam Bunch asked Monday for a more detailed explanation, but Hubbard said that a “confidentiality statement” had been signed by city officials at the advice of the city attorney.
The Rainy Day Fund is the only source of revenue which the city has at its disposal to pay the settlement, Hubbard said.
He added, “It was good that we (the city and its insurance company) got it settled at this point and it didn’t go any further.”
On Monday, Bunch said she was not happy with the situation, and she asked if final action couldn’t be delayed until a full council was present as well as Hinkle.
Faulkner agreed to make a motion to that effect, and it was unanimously approved.
Hinkle said this morning that his presence was not requested at Monday’s meeting.
Monday’s council session and the executive session referred to by Hubbard may have violated Indiana’s Open Door Law regarding public access to government. A legal notice regarding the proposed additional appropriation from the Rainy Day Fund was published in The News & Sun, but no written notice or agenda for the meeting was provided as required by law. No notice was ever given for the executive session.
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