FAYETTEVILLE -- The county judge for Washington County didn't follow policy when he fired and hired department heads, and the money paid to the new employees should be returned to taxpayers, a class-action lawsuit states.
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A former Washington County employee and current county resident has sued County Judge Joseph Wood, his newly hired department heads and the county alleging Wood didn’t follow county hiring and firing policies and that money paid to his new employees should be returned.
Source: Staff Report
George Butler, former chief of staff for the county judge, filed the civil lawsuit Wednesday in Washington County Circuit Court alleging illegal exaction of taxpayer money.
The lawsuit comes after months of controversy surrounding how County Judge Joseph Wood fired four longtime employees and hired six new ones. The personnel policy covering the hiring and firing process is set out in an ordinance approved by the Quorum Court.
Butler was chief of staff for former County Judge Marilyn Edwards, a Democrat who didn't run for re-election last year. Butler also was county attorney for just over 30 years before he retired in 2014.
On Thursday, Butler referred questions about the lawsuit to his attorney Jim Lingle. Lingle didn't return a message left at his office Thursday afternoon.
County Attorney Brian Lester, who is among the department heads named in Butler's lawsuit, said he hadn't yet been served legal documents and couldn't comment.
Wood, a Republican, didn't respond to a message requesting comment.
Besides Wood and Lester, the lawsuit names Carl Gales, Wood's chief of staff; Julie Harris, executive assistant to the county judge; Jim Kimbrough, Planning Department director; Sharon Lloyd, grant administrator; Dwight Gonzales, Building and Grounds director; and Josh Medina, county Veterans Services officer. All were hired by Wood this year.
The lawsuit asks a judge to declare each of the positions in question vacant, pending full compliance with county hiring policies to fill them. The suit asks a judge to rule that public money was illegally paid to those people hired by Wood and to order the return to the county of any money misapplied or spent illegally or arbitrarily on the employees.
The lawsuit seeks an injunction prohibiting the county from spending any more money on the employees in question.
Butler is asking for an injunction to prevent Wood from hiring any more employees unless and until he abides by the county's hiring policies and federal employment law.
Justice of the Peace Eva Madison, a Democrat representing northeastern Fayetteville, said she's concerned about what the lawsuit will mean for the county.
"It's always concerning when the county gets sued," Madison said.
She said she wasn't sure the risk management insurance would cover costs for the lawsuit. She also questioned who would represent the county because Lester is named in the suit.
Madison said it's unfortunate that individual employees may have to pay back their salaries.
The Quorum Court also hasn't resolved issues surrounding some of Wood's hires, Madison said.
Wood cited county policy when he didn't rehire four employees in December. Two other employees resigned instead of working for Wood.
Wood didn't advertise the positions or follow other policies laid out for hiring employees, according to the lawsuit. Former County Attorney Steve Zega filed a grievance against Wood over how Wood didn't rehire him and then hired Lester in January. Justices of the peace agreed with Zega.
Since then, Justice of the Peace Lisa Ecke, a Republican representing northeastern Springdale, has been working with the Human Resources director to revise the employee handbook. But some justices of the peace remain concerned about Wood's hires.
For example, Wood hired Lloyd -- who was a justice of the peace until Dec. 31 -- even though the county has a policy against hiring an elected official until that official has been out of office for one year. An attempt to change the policy and specifically allow Lloyd's hiring failed last month.
Some justices of the peace have questioned the new employees' qualifications because no resumes or job application forms have been publicly released. Others have said they have confidence in Wood.
State law gives the county judge the power to hire and fire employees, and he's hiring the right people, said Justice of the Peace Harvey Bowman, a Republican who represents northern Washington County.
Wood's new hires are increasing efficiency in the county, Bowman said. Gales, for example, has been more involved with Road Department work than his predecessor was, he said. Wood and his staff look for ways to better organize and save money for the county, Bowman said.
"Even though it wasn't done in a public manner, the judge obviously has gone through the resume process," Bowman said. "He's the one who's supposed to be doing the hiring."
Metro on 04/28/2017