Harrington mayor, city manager under investigation for civil and criminal wrongdoing

Harrington City Manager Don Williams has been put on an administrative suspension and Mayor Anthony Moyer has relinquished his duties as they are both being investigated for allegations of criminal and civil misconduct. 

The City Council suspended Williams at a special council meeting Tuesday. Moyer announced that night during the council meeting that he would be stepping aside to avoid any appearance of interfering with the investigation. 

Former city planner Jeremy Rothwell spurred the investigation two weeks ago at the regular City Council meeting when he accused the officials of multiple criminal and civil violations including "time fraud."

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Rothwell, who is now a senior planner for the town of Smyrna, was terminated by Williams over the summer after working with the city since December 2016.

Rothwell said in an interview with Delaware Online/The News Journal on Thursday that he was fired on the spot on June 19 by the city manager, under the directive of the mayor.

The planner claims Williams told him he was not a good fit for the role, that Rockwell wasn't getting along with him or the mayor and that Rothwell had not been interpreting city code correctly. 

Rothwell said that he had only misinterpreted the city code a few times and had only gotten one oral warning before his termination. Rothwell said the personnel manual said he was supposed to get two oral warnings and a written reprimand before termination. 

After he was terminated, Rothwell filed a grievance but said the city manager blew him off. Rothwell then hired a lawyer who sent a letter to the city demanding Rothwell's job back or a severance package 

When the city didn't comply with his demands, Rothwell filed Freedom of Information Act requests for timesheets and surveillance footage of the office. Rothwell contends there were many instances when city manager Williams would say he was working, according to his time sheets, but would not be in the office according to surveillance footage. 

Rothwell presented them as evidence of wrongdoing at the Oct. 21 regular council meeting as part of a presentation that included a 13-page statement. 

Williams, who is salaried, told The News Journal that Rothwell does not have the whole picture of his job. 

Mayor Moyer calls Rothwell "a disgruntled employee" and says Rothwell has stated publicly that he wants 18 months of severance pay. 

Moyer did not want to go into the specifics of why Rothwell was fired. 

Moyer will retain the title of mayor until the investigation is over, but all administrative duties will be performed by Vice Mayor Amy Minner. 

City manager Williams is on administrative suspension with pay until the investigation is done by an outside source. Williams said that after Rothwell's termination there was a grievance process started by Rothwell but Williams could not discuss the specifics because of the pending investigation. 

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City manager Williams was at a conference at the time of the original comments from Rothwell at the Oct. 21 council meeting. He returned to work on Monday, Oct. 27, and was told then that it was in the best interests of the city that he leave for the day. 

Williams was officially suspended with pay by the council at the special meeting on Tuesday, pending the results of the investigation. 

"I understand that the city has a job to protect the city. I'm OK with that," he said. "I know that I didn't in my heart do anything wrong. I did the best that I could and I feel the same for my mayor."

Police chief Norman Barlow will be performing the administrative duties of the city manager. 

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According to Mayor Moyer, the City Council has reached out to state police agencies and the Delaware ethics board to determine if there was any wrongdoing on the part of the two city officials. 

Minutes from the special meeting on Tuesday were not available online because the Clerk of Council, Kelly Blanchies, is out on vacation. 

This is an ongoing story. Check back here for updates. 

Contact Marina Affo at maffo@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @marina_affo.