After nearly eight months, Tyrone Borough has reached a settlement agreement with its former manager, Nathan George, who was fired by the municipality in June of last year.
\nThe decision was announced at last night\u2019s regular borough council meeting and was approved by a unanimous vote after the issue was presented to the council by solicitor Larry Clapper.
\nMayor Patricia Stoner commented briefly on the settlement during the meeting. She termed it a \u201cseverance pay\u201d rather than a settlement.
\nAfter the meeting, the mayor and Clapper were asked to comment on the settlement. Clapper said he could not divulge any details of the agreement because it included a confidentiality clause. The mayor offered little additional or substantial comment after the meeting due to the confidentiality clause.
\nThe mayor and Clapper were asked about expenses the borough incurred to deal with legal ramifications which followed George\u2019s dismissal.
\nClapper said the borough had used a $5,000 deductible associated with its general liability insurance. He declined to give further details, but it could be inferred the borough had spent the $5,000 on legal fees involving the matter.
\nThe Daily Herald has made an open records request to learn the details of the agreement and costs associated with it. Word of whether or not the request had been approved by the borough had not been received by press time.
\nGeorge contended he was fired during an executive session in violation of the state\u2019s Sunshine Laws three days prior to a June 11, 2004 special meeting which was open to the public. The law requires municipalities to take official action such as dismissal during a public session. The borough contended his firing was \u201cwith cause\u201d and was effective immediately after the council voted in public on the issue at the special meeting.
\nGeorge also contended the borough had fired him because of how he dealt with personnel matters as well as issues involving borough employee morale and projects which fell under his domain.
\nDuring the June 11 public meeting, George said, \u201cI believe it is a direct retaliation discharge, based on my refusal to comply with council, mayor and solicitor (Larry) Clapper as directed as to my working relationship with executive secretary Kim Murray who was under my direct exclusive supervision and control,\u201d said George. \u201cI also believe council is retaliating against me for suggesting the borough follow its charter, in operating a council management form of government.\u201d
\nGeorge retained a Hollidaysburg employment attorney, Joseph Cavrich, to work on his behalf. A lawsuit was commenced against the borough and there were legal filings from both sides and a closed door meeting with a county judge. However, a formal complaint on behalf of George was never filed.
\nThis morning, The Daily Herald contacted George in Emporia, VA where he works in the city manager\u2019s office. He declined comment, citing the confidentiality clause in the agreement. He was also asked questions about his new job and again declined to comment.
\nGeorge was told Tyrone council had approved the agreement. He said he was unable to comment on the news, adding only that he wanted to put that \u201cchapter\u201d of his life behind him.
\nGeorge was hired by Tyrone Borough in December of 2003 and began work in January of 2004. George came to Tyrone from Elkhorn, Neb., where he had been involved in municipal government.
\nAfter the January 2004 meeting where George was introduced, Mayor Stoner spoke positively of him, saying at the time, \u201cHe has impeccable credentials and a great personality for a small town.\u201d
\nSince George\u2019s departure, the borough spent several months without anyone in the manager\u2019s position until last month, when Sharon Dannaway, a five-year member of council, was appointed interim borough manager. Dannaway had to take a leave of absence from her council position to accept the interim manager\u2019s job at an annual salary of $40,000.
\nCouncil is expected to revisit the manager\u2019s position by mid-year at the latest. If Dannaway were to be named permanent borough manager, she would be required to resign her council seat.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After nearly eight months, Tyrone Borough has reached a settlement agreement with its former manager, Nathan George, who was fired by the municipality in June of last year. The decision was announced at last night\u2019s regular borough council meeting and was approved by a unanimous vote after the issue was presented to the council by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-43493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-local-news-in-the-tyrone-pennsylvania-area"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43493","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=43493"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43493\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=43493"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=43493"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tyronepa.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=43493"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}