Renee Gray reinstated as county manager

The Washington County commissioners voted unanimously to reinstate Renee Gray as the county manager at a meeting on August 26. Gray had been fired in a 2-1 vote by the commissioners on July 2 and had then filed suit against two of the commissioners and the county, alleging she was fired illegally.

According to David Burns, the chair of the commissioners, Gray was reinstated to her position immediately, based on a motion that had been negotiated among the attorneys for the different parties in the lawsuit. He says the temporary restraining order issued last month in superior court prohibiting the county from moving forward on her firing "needs to be followed," as it found that the process for dismissing her had not been correct. "We had to reverse what we did before."

Gray says she planned to go back to work the day after the August 26 commissioners' meeting. Of the commissioners' decision, she says, "I've been here waiting for it," as the court order was issued on July 17, pausing any attempts to move forward with Gray's termination due to the lawsuit's claims that Gray could suffer "immediate and irreparable injury" from such action.

As for whether the suit that Gray filed will now be dropped, Burns says, "I'd like to see the lawsuit dropped, but I don't know if it will be."

However, Gray says she is not planning to drop the suit unless there is a settlement that amends her contract to provide legal protections for her.

Burns says there are not any plans by the commissioners to proceed again with firing Gray. "We need to get back to work," with Gray following her job description and state statutes on the county manager's responsibilities. "She'll be back in charge of all the departments and report to the commissioners," he says, adding, "There's no plan to do anything but to get to work. I'm hoping everybody will be working as professionals."

Burns notes, "There's an awful lot on our plate," as the process begins for working on the budget for next year. After reinstating Gray at the August 26 meeting, the commissioners "went back and forth" on whether to pare down the current budget proposal before sending it on to the county budget committee. At present, the potential budget increase is about 40%. "There was no consensus on any proposed budget," he notes. The proposal will given to the budget committee at the commissioners' next meeting on September 10.

Defendants seek dismissal of county suit

Attorneys for the defendants in the lawsuit recently filed a motion to have the suit dismissed. A week before, attorneys representing commissioners Burns and Billy Howard and the county in their official capacities had filed a motion for only partial dismissal of the court case. The attorneys for the defendants in their individual capacities now have moved for the entire suit to be dismissed by the court.

The suit, which is now federal court, alleges that Gray was fired without cause following an executive session of the county commission. It asserts among other things that Commissioners Burns and Howard, in both their official and private capacities, denied Gray's rights by not affording her the due process required when terminating employees, actions which also amounted to a breach of their contract with Gray.

On August 11, attorneys Michael Lichtenstein and Peter Marchesi, representing the defendants in their official capacities, filed a motion asking the court to dismiss all charges related to Maine's Freedom of Access Act and wrongful termination as well as intentional infliction of emotional distress and defamation.

Then on August 17, attorneys Cecilia Shields-Auble and Bradford Pattershall, the attorneys representing Burns and Howard in their individual capacities, requested dismissal of all 13 claims in the suit. Those claims include violation of Maine's Freedom of Access Act; breach of contract for failure to conduct annual performance reviews and for termination without cause; violation of Maine's Whistleblower Protection Act; sexual harassment and discrimination; infliction of emotional distress; defamation; and due process violations.