Harrington city manager's firing upheld in council vote; mayor's actions scrutinized

The Harrington city council upheld its decision to fire City Manager Don Williams at a council meeting Tuesday. 

Williams and his lawyer were given an opportunity to speak as to why he why he should be reinstated at a public hearing during the meeting. He was fired in January for failure to maintain a piece of evidence that was necessary to respond to allegations made against him by a past employee.

In a 5-1 vote Tuesday night, his firing was upheld. 

Eric Marquis, the sole council member who voted to reinstate Williams, said it was because he was swayed by the evidence Williams presented on the reason he was fired. 

"Mr. Williams was only terminated in his termination letter for the failure to maintain evidence," Marquis said, adding he was swayed because Williams only found out he had to maintain the record months later. 

Williams was fired in early January after being placed on paid leave, then being asked to resign. After he refused to resign, the council moved to fire him, said Councilman Joseph Gannon Jr. 

Police chief Norman Barlow is now the acting city manager. 

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

The backstory

Williams' saga began in October when he, along with Harrington Mayor Anthony Moyer, was accused of civil and criminal wrongdoing by a former city planner, Jeremy Rothwell. 

Rothwell accused the officials of multiple criminal and civil violations including "time fraud."

At the time, Williams was put on paid leave and Moyer unofficially stepped back from his duties, allowing Vice Mayor Amy Minner to handle official duties. 

The state's Public Integrity Commission formally investigated the city, but Williams was terminated before that report came out. 

Gannon said the council felt the whole situation was a dark cloud over the city that would not go away, so they needed to start fresh. He added Williams wasn't going to be able to do his job well with all the scrutiny now being placed on him. 

On Tuesday, the number of people who attended the meeting to hear Williams' public hearing forced council to move from the regular council chambers to the senior center across the street. This was the first time since Williams' firing that he spoke publicly.

More:Lawyer of Milford man killed by officers say police need more training to deal with the disabled

Investigation reveals possible wrongdoing 

Though Moyer has stepped back into his full-time duties as city mayor, there are still matters to be addressed with his position, Gannon said.

The findings of the Public Integrity Commission's investigation have been released, but only the final page of the 11-page document was released to the public.

It touched on Moyer's actions regarding a potential conflict of interest involving his property, the Quillen Building, some possible spending issues within the city and possible spending issues with Williams. 

The council will discuss the findings at a future meeting and taking possible action, according to council members. 

Read the full list released to the public below: 

• The city needs to better inform its employees about the role of the City Council vs. the mayor. 
• The mayor used his position as mayor to avoid having a "stop work order" placed against his property, the Quillen Building. 
• Mr. Moyer tried to use his position as mayor to have his driveway and the sewer line replaced on his Quillen Building property.  
• Mr. Moyer entered into a $3,500 contract with his friend to perform work for the city without the approval from City Council. 
• Mr. Moyer expected the city to pay for his E-ZPass violation and did not repay the city for over a year. 
• The city may have been double billed for work on the gas lines at the Public Works Building. 
• Mr. Williams exhibited a conflict of interest as to Mr. Moyer that affected his ability to independently exercise his official judgement. 
• Mr. Williams took advantage of the flex time provision in the Personnel Manual by taking off excessive work hours without documenting vacation time. 
• Mr. Williams owes money to the city for the exorbitant accommodations he selected for his Nashville conference. 
• One or more city employees has been leaking confidential information to Mr. Moyer and may be providing him with confidential documents. 
• The city should delegate a member of City Council to sign documents when neither the city manager nor the chief of police are available. The same member should also sign the city manager's and the chief of police's leave slips. 
• The city may want to reconsider contracting individuals who do not respond to requests for information when the request is made at the behest of the city. 

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