Were Vineyard employee resignations forced or voluntary?

VINEYARD — Two months into the new mayor's term in Vineyard, some former employees are speaking out about how they say they were forced out of their positions, including one employee who claimed a councilman was harassing her.

The Vineyard City Council created a subcommittee on Jan. 13 to ensure "organizational alignment" among staff, Mayor Zack Stratton said. But public comment at that meeting painted a different picture, with some claiming certain staff members were being forced to resign.

The council, however, claimed no one on staff had been terminated. But more than a month later, the city manager, city recorder, finance director, community development director, communications manager, special events manager and an administrative assistant have all left and no longer work for the city.

No 'appetite to retain you'

On Jan. 5, the new council members and mayor were sworn in. Two days later, city recorder Pam Spencer was called in to talk to the mayor and was told "the council does not have the appetite to retain you," she said.

Spencer told KSL she found out the finance director, city manager and community development director had all been told the same thing and were offered severance packages to sign as a "voluntary resignation." The four of them hired an attorney to help them negotiate and didn't sign the agreements until late January.

"It basically felt like if we didn't sign that we were voluntarily resigning, we weren't going to get the severance," Spencer said. "What we ended up signing was a separation agreement, but it states we voluntarily resigned, which isn't the case. ... Basically, I was fired."

In a prepared statement, the mayor said, "Several appointed directors have voluntarily resigned following overwhelming council disapproval, multiple audit findings and overall performance concerns." The staff changes aim to address "serious financial challenges" and "systemic issues," Stratton said.

Related:

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Spencer said she is "almost 100% sure" that the rationale for her being let go stemmed from her submitting a formal written grievance about Councilman Jacob Holdaway on Jan. 2.

"His communications and actions toward me were targeted and threatening in nature," Spencer said in the grievance to the mayor, city manager and human resources director that was obtained by KSL. Holdaway caused "significant and unnecessary stress" to her and her department through a "pattern of harassment, intimidation, retaliation and interference," the grievance said.

Holdaway, who has been adamant since being elected that the former council was hiding information from both him and the public, frequently discusses his request for public records online and in meetings. According to Spencer's grievance, "The volume and nature of (his) requests have, at times, prevented me from completing my routine day-to-day responsibilities and have caused delays in other essential duties."

One such request she characterized as "retaliatory" was for "all conversations to and from all of our City Council members and the mayor starting in 2022." Spencer suggested he narrow the scope to a specific topic or shorter timeline, as that request would be unnecessarily time-consuming and cost approximately $18,000 to accomplish, she said.

In response, Holdaway said he had just spent 84 hours sifting through his text messages to fulfill a different records request for her and it was "troubling" that she was "blocking" his records request, an email quoted in her grievance states.

"I'm documenting the behavior for use at a later time," Holdaway said in the email to her. Spencer told KSL she believes her departure was him fulfilling that threat — a concern she had voiced in the grievance.

Spencer further alleged Holdaway has made statements on social media and in city council meetings disparaging her and claiming she was incapable of doing her job. Spencer also claimed in the grievance that Holdaway violated both the Government Records Access and Management Act and the Open and Public Meetings Act, which she says could "expose the city to potential legal liability."

Stratton said he was "not privy" to Spencer's allegations, but Holdaway has not violated either act. He said Spencer's attorney never brought up the issue of her "being pressured" in negotiations on her severance agreement.

"She voluntarily resigned," he emphasized.

Eliminating positions

Certain city positions were eliminated to address "areas of overstaffing and subsequent unnecessary tax burden," Stratton's statement said

Natilee Hernandez, the mayor's executive assistant, found out she was pregnant in September. Due to the city's political climate and the expected changes that come with a new city council, she said she worried about the security of her job.

As the mayor's assistant, she manages the calendar and meetings. But before Stratton was even sworn in, she said her access to his calendar was revoked and weeks later, so was her access to his email.

Hernandez went to the human resources director, who "made it sound like I'd be safe" and told her she had protections as a pregnant employee.

But as the breadwinner of her household, she grew especially worried once the department heads resigned. She was then told her role would be changing as the mayor decided he didn't need an executive assistant.

She had her first full day in a new role in the public works department on Feb. 2. But that afternoon, human resources told her "they created a position for me, then told me that position was not necessary and eliminated that position," Hernandez said.

She was given a separation agreement to sign, but she declined to sign it because she felt parts of it would prohibit her from speaking out.

"Even though my husband and I could really use the two-week severance agreement, I can't in good conscience sign away my rights to speak the truth," Hernandez said.

Hernandez also said she felt betrayed by what occurred, especially when Stratton emailed all city staff after being elected to say he was excited to work with them and that "I come in peace."

"My goal is to work alongside each of you to serve our community effectively. I recognize that the dedication and expertise you bring to your roles every day are what make our city function and thrive," Stratton's email said.

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Big change is on the horizon for Vineyard, with an almost entirely new council and a focus on financial transparency following last year's audit, which revealed inaccurate reporting of transactions.

Jenna Ahern, the former communications manager, said she initially felt relieved after seeing Stratton's email. But seeing employees leave within days felt "very deceitful," Ahern said.

Stratton said it is "not a novel issue" for a new city administration to make changes or restructure, so he said he is "surprised that it is being raised."

Ahern was asked to create social media posts about an independent audit the city had conducted, so she put together the positive and negative findings, the policies the city has already implemented to improve financial transparency and the things the city planned to implement.

But she said Councilman Jacob Wood revised the posts to remove all positive findings and the list of already implemented items.

"He made all the negative ones broad statements. ... The way it was all phrased made it seem very widespread and felt very fearmongery to me," she said.

Ahern told the council she thought the city's social platforms should share both the negative and positive, but was told by the mayor to hold off on posting it. The next week, Ahern said she was told by the human resources manager that the mayor wanted her to "start looking for a new job."

She was given a six-week severance package stating her position was being eliminated.

"I feel better being on the outside. Going into the office, morale is so low. Everybody is scared, no one knows if they are next," Ahern said.

Losing so many employees is going to make it extremely difficult to get anything done in the city, Ahern added. Stratton said the staffing decisions will "strengthen our organization and improve our workplace culture."

"While these changes are not always easy, they are necessary. Our focus remains on restoring trust, improving transparency and ensuring that the city operates efficiently and responsibly for the people we serve," the mayor said.

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