I stand by story linking severance pay to two city staff resignations

Take a look at copy of separation agreement for yourselves

Here is a copy of the agreement between the city of Longview and former Assistant City Manager Ann Rivers providing Rivers with six months’ severance pay and other benefits in exchange for her resignation.

I am posting it here because Longview Mayor Spencer Boudreau emailed a message to KLOG radio this week stating that “no city staff member was offered money to leave — that is wrong and these things should not be happening in the workplace.”

The radio station cited my story, posted Monday, about the agreement. Boudreau did not name me or “Lower Columbia Currents” in his note to KLOG (AM 1490, FM 100.7) claiming the report was inaccurate. Nor did Boudreau send it to me.

The agreement, signed by Rivers and interim City Manager Jim Duscha, gives Rivers six months’ pay, continuing of health insurance at her expense and other benefits. She agrees to waive any possible claims against the city.

The agreement says the city is terminating Rivers but that once she signed the severance agreement “she is permitted to submit a letter of resignation,” which she did on May 20, the date of the agreement.

Boudreau did not return requests for comment, but he continued to insist to others the story was wrong. Duscha did not return my request for comment on the original story.

I still have not obtained Gigler’s separation agreement, but it is said to contain similar terms. Together, the two separation deals likely will cost the city more than $150,000.

I’ll let the agreement below stand for itself, except that I would ask: If someone wants to resign voluntarily, why would you pay them a severance?

“I’d still be there if I was not offered a severance,” Rivers said by email. “It became glaring apparent that I was in the crosshairs, so the buyout made the choice (to resign) easy.”

Any suggestion that Duscha begged her stay is false, Rivers added.

Gigler and Rivers are the second and third executive-level administrators to leave the city since the council fired City Manager Kris Swanson and appointed Duscha as interim on March 13. Those actions have led to self-inflicted chaos in the council and city staff.

The city currently has no assistant manager, staff attorney (it has contracted out for one on an as-needed basis), fire chief, finance director, information/IT manager or land use planner. It also will lose its public works director to retirement next month.

In addition, several other workers in the Community Development Department — which Rivers managed — also have resigned recently — Rivers reported.

The loss of experienced senior staff is a far more compelling and worrisome an issue than the cost to the city of these separation accords. And critics of the council majority predict more resignations lie ahead.

Duscha, acting as city manager, has sole authority to hire and fire city workers. Nevertheless, the majority members of the City Council have targeted Rivers.

A resolution that newly minted council members Keith Young and Kalei LaFave introduced in February sought to audit Rivers’ performance. The resolution, never acted on, grew out of objections among right wing conservatives that she could not adequately do her city job while serving as a state senator from Clark County.

Rivers said she worked overtime, vacation and holidays to make up hours lost to legislative work. But she also ran into conflicts with state Sen. Jeff Wilson, R-Longview, over state funding for the city’s Hope Village project for the homeless. Wilson is an ally of Councilwoman LaFave.

Here is a look at Rivers’ agreement with the city.