FAYETTEVILLE -- Washington County Judge Joseph Wood can fire the comptroller, despite her claim she was terminated for pointing out possible misuse of county property and sexual discrimination, a seven-member committee decided Thursday.
"Me speaking up is what terminated me," former Comptroller Ashley Farber said during her grievance hearing Thursday.
How they voted
The Washington County Personnel Committee voted 4-3 in favor of County Judge Joseph Wood during a grievance hearing for former Comptroller Ashley Farber on Thursday. Justices of the peace Harvey Bowman, Butch Pond, Lisa Ecke and Bill Ussery, all Republicans, favored Wood. Justices of the peace Robert Dennis, a Republican, and Joseph Kieklak and Sue Madison, both Democrats, sided with Farber.
Source: Staff Report
Comptroller duties
The Washington County comptroller oversees the roughly $68 million budget. Comptroller Office duties include:
• Reviewing, researching and recommending contacts for services, supplies, and equipment.
• Assisting all departments with purchasing and accounting.
• Reviewing all departmental budget expenditures throughout the year to help manage fund.
Source: Washington County
Farber petitioned the committee to get back her job after she was fired April 6. On Thursday, county elected officials and current and former employees crowded into a fifth floor conference room at the Washington County Courthouse to hear the outcome of Farber's controversial firing.
The Personnel Committee voted 4-3 in favor of Wood. Most justices of the peace praised Farber's job performance but said Arkansas is an at-will state where employees can be fired without cause. Two justices of the peace said Farber was fired illegally in retaliation for doing her job.
"We appreciate the committee and think that the correct decision was made," County Attorney Brian Lester said after the hearing. "We will hire someone who is qualified, someone who has a degree and someone who is experienced."
Many employees in departments overseen by Wood have been fired, suddenly quit or had job duties changed since Wood took office in 2017, said Justice of the Peace Sue Madison, a Democrat representing southeastern Fayetteville.
"We are not stable in the administration of this county," Madison said.
The grievance is the most-recent example of that, Madison said.
The county hopes to fill Farber's position in the next week or so, Lester said. Farber's attorney said he had no comment on whether Farber will sue the county in civil court.
Either way, the county is ready to move on, Lester said.
Farber was hired in 2005, took a payroll position in 2011, then worked as assistant comptroller under former Comptroller Cheryl Bolinger. Farber was promoted to comptroller in 2016. Her salary was about $65,000.
The county paid Farber more money when she was terminated, her attorney Payton Bentley said. He wouldn't say how much the county paid Farber. No legal contracts or severance was ever signed as part of a deal, he said.
Wood said he fired Farber because she doesn't have a four-year college degree or enough of a professional background to oversee the $68 million budget. Bentley said Wood has hired others who didn't match job descriptions approved by the Quorum Court.
A lawsuit over whether Wood must follow county policy is ongoing in Circuit Court.
Farber said she was fired, partially, for speaking up about how Lester treated female employees. Lester has belittled, yelled at and otherwise threatened women with being fired, she said.
Farber said Lester also seemed in charge of the county and her office, even though his position isn't above hers. For example, shortly before Farber was fired, Lester became angry when she told him software he wanted her office to use would be unhelpful, expensive and cumbersome.
"I think I was terminated because you wanted me terminated," Farber told Lester. "It's obvious that Brian Lester makes all the decisions for Washington County. You try to rule the county and you try to tell us what to do and what not to do and to use Judge Wood."
Farber also had an issue with Chief of Staff Carl Gales in 2017, after Gales decided to give a county-owned jacket to Wood's wife. Farber said she was unsure county property could be given away because it was bought with taxpayer money. Gales told Farber she should watch her back, Farber said.
"In 13 years in county government, I've never experienced what I've experienced with this administration," Farber said.
NW News on 05/11/2018