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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint settles Whistleblower lawsuit with former city employee for $250,000
Print Jeremy Allen | jallen42@mlive.com By Jeremy Allen | jallen42@mlive.com
on May 17, 2013 at 6:15 PM, updated May 17, 2013 at 6:17 PM
FLINT, MI –
The city of Flint reached a settlement with a former employee and will pay $250,000 for wrongful termination, loss of wages, emotional distress/mental anguish and loss of professional reputation, according to a statement from the employee's attorney, Tom Pabst.
Michael Townsend, a longtime employee in the city’s finance department, settled his Whistleblower Protection Act lawsuit after he claimed to have been fired for cooperating with a state investigation
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In 2011, Townsend was requested by the State of Michigan to provide a report to the state concerning the Flint’s financial status and the progress that was being made.
After providing the state with a report, state representatives requested that Townsend and Flint Mayor Dayne Walling travel to Lansing and participate in a hearing about the report.
Townsend’s lawyers said that at the hearing, when asked direct questions, Townsend answered truthfully and was chastised by Walling for doing so.
Townsend was fired a short time following the hearing and said that he was “simply performing his job and upholding his civic and patriotic duty to the city and the state.”
Just after Townsend’s firing, an emergency financial manager was appointed by the state to run Flint.
The case, which was to be heard by Judge Geoffrey Neithercut in Genesee County Circuit Court, settled shortly before trial for $250,000, Pabst said.
Walling, who just recently returned from a conference in Atlanta Friday afternoon, referred all questions about the case to the city.
Assistant City Attorney John Postulka, who was the attorney on the case for the city, did not immediately return phone calls.
City Attorney Peter Bade was also unavailable for comment. |
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Fri May 17, 2013 6:43 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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The two DCED employees filed whistleblowers and were paid too. The only person not paid was Wendy Johnson.
Maybe the rumors of corruption in City Hall are orrect.
City Hall shake-up: Flint Mayor Dayne Walling fires finance director, economic development staff
Published: Saturday, November 12, 2011, 2:57 PM Updated: Sunday, November 13, 2011, 8:47 AM
Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com By Kristin Longley | klongley1@mlive.com
FLINT, Michigan -- Days after a state review panel declared Flint in a financial emergency, Flint Mayor Dayne Walling announced the firing of the city's finance director and two employees of the Department of Community and Economic Development.
Walling has also accepted the resignation of Wendy Johnson, director of the community and economic development department, he said Friday in a news release.
Finance Director Michael Townsend and the two DCED staff members, who were not named in the release, were "relieved of their duties" Friday, the mayor said.
He attributed the personnel changes to his decision to "pursue a new direction" for the city.
Flint is on the verge of a state takeover after a review panel said Flint is in a "local government financial emergency." The announcement came Tuesday, the same day Walling was re-elected.
Gov. Rick Snyder, in a Q&A with The Flint Journal, said Friday that he's currently in the process of looking at candidates for Flint's emergency manager.
"I have come to the decision it is time for the city to pursue a new direction with respect to the operations of the Finance Department and the Department of Community and Economic Development (DCED)," Walling said in a statement. "There may be additional changes as part of the normal transition into a new term." |
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Fri May 17, 2013 7:04 pm |
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untanglingwebs
El Supremo
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Flint finally paid off!
Must have waited until new fiscal year started.
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Flint pays former finance director Michael Townsend $250,000 to settle lawsuitt
Dominic Adams | dadams5@mlive.com By Dominic Adams | dadams5@mlive.com
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on July 29, 2013 at 5:30 PM, updated July 29, 2013 at 5:32 PM
FLINT, MI – Flint will pay its former finance director more than $250,000 to settle a lawsuit that claims he was fired for telling state officials the truth about the city’s finances in 2011.
Michael Townsend will get the settlement and the city will admit no liability, according to the July 19 resolution signed by emergency manager Michael Brown.
Attorney Tom Pabst said Townsend also was able to pay $18,000 cash to get his pension fully vested at $430,000.
“Even though the city formally denied liability,” Pabst said, “anybody with a brain would see that Mike is right.”
Townsend was fired by Flint Mayor Dayne Walling in November 2011, a few days after a state review panel declared Flint in a “financial emergency” and recommended a state takeover of the city’s finances.
Pabst said Townsend was terminated because he supplied records to the state showing Flint was facing a cash flow shortage. The shortage was one of several reasons cited by the state review for the financial emergency status.
“This is terrible what happened to Mike,” Pabst said. “He had the courage to tell the truth and that’s why you have an emergency manager in Flint now. They wanted him to spin it and he just wouldn’t do it.”
Townsend worked for the city for nine years, Pabst said. Townsend is still unemployed.
“It’s good for Mike,” Pabst said of the settlement. “That takes care of him and his family.”
Walling and City Attorney Pete Bade could not be reached for comment.
The money will come from litigations and suits budget, which will be left with $617,193.94, the city said.
Dominic Adams is a reporter for MLive-Flint Journal. Contact him at dadams5@mlive.com or 810-241-8803. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. |
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Tue Jul 30, 2013 3:02 am |
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