City Shells Out Cash For Firing Of Treasurer

Rogers is shelling out at least $312,000 as a result of emotions and impatience.

That’s the take-away from the case of Hudlow vs. the City of Rogers. Jerry Hudlow, who served as the city’s treasurerfrom 2002, claimed in the lawsuit Mayor Greg Hines improperly fired him in May 2012. He asserted he deserved whistle-blower protection due to complaints he had made about the city attorney’s expenses. Hudlow alsosought damages for injury to his reputation.

The employment situation was pretty basic: Hines lost trust in Hudlow. He gave him an opportunity to resign. Hudlow refused.

Armed with what turned out to be bad legal advice from City Attorney Ben Lipscomb, Hines followed through on the firing. He later testifi ed Hudlow didn’t show interest in working with other city department heads “in a civil manner.” Lipscomb and Hudlow didn’t like each other, Hines testified. It should be noted an audit turned up no problems in the city attorney’s expenses and the court rejected Hudlow’s whistle-blower claim.

Hines and Lipscomb relied on a state statute giving the mayor authority to fi re “department heads.” A city ordinance, however, says the city’s treasurer can only be fired by a two-thirds vote of the City Council. The judge in Hudlow’s case ruled the ordinance applied, meaning Hines acted without legal authority in unilaterally fi ring Hudlow.

It’s important to note here, however, that nobody within the city has publicly taken up Hudlow’s cause and argued he should have stayed on the job. In awarding Hudlow $312,000, the judge and jury determined the process by which Hudlow was fired was inadequate, but didn’t address the judgment behind the firing. Mayors need to have a high level of confidence in the people who report to them.

Hines, supported by Lipscomb’s advice, was eager to pull the plug, convinced the authority to do so rested with him. Because the issue of authority had come up, a careful handling of a sensitive legal issue would have suggested taking abundant precaution - taking the matter to the City Council for a vote as the city ordinance, the laws most closely related to how the city operates, dictated.

That would have made a bit of a scene and it would have put Hudlow’s future in the hands of the council rather than the executive, which is always a little more dicey. But had that been done, Rogers’ wouldn’t have a $312,000 judgment against it.

Cooler heads could have avoided the court’s finding and a sad episode in Rogers city government.

CASUALTIES OF WAR

To honor the men and women in our armed forces and remind our readers of their sacrifices, this newspaper is publishing Department of Defense announcements identifying Americans killed in active military operations.

Army Spc. Angel L. Lopez, 27, of Parma,Ohio, died Oct. 5, in Zabul province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit with small-arms fi re. He was assigned to the 201st Brigade Support Battalion, 3rd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, Fort Knox, Ky.