The nugget., May 18, 2016, Page 23, Image 23

Wednesday, May 18, 2016 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
REPORT: Council was
concerned about
litigation
Continued from page 20
lack of sensitivity as to how
employees might interpret the
situation. The circumstances
involved permits for the
Saddlestone development,
for which Gorayeb’s wife
serves as a real estate agent.
Gorayeb told Driscoll
that he is “‘meticulous’
about separating his wife’s
work from his own.” He
also indicated that it was
“common for him to ask for
timelines for some — but not
all — permits and that he has
asked for timelines on the
Saddlestone project.”
Driscoll reported, “I
find Gorayeb did not
directly mandate the staff
to process the permits for
his wife’s clients any faster
or differently than other
permit. That being said, it
is reasonable for employees
in the planning staff to feel
implicit pressure when the
City Manager asks about a
project that may impact his
or her personal financial
situation. Gorayeb should
have recognized that his
involvement, even if only
done as a matter of inquiry,
would likely result in the
staff treating those permits
with a higher priority. I find
Gorayeb’s conduct resulted
in the staff feeling compelled
to treat Saddlestone permits
more favorably.”
It is clear from the report
and the executive summary
that the City Council had no
grounds to dismiss Gorayeb
for cause. Allegations of
bullying and harassment
were not sustained. Further,
as Gorayeb stated in his
letter of resignation, “Prior
to this investigation, I have
never been notified or warned
about deficiencies in my
performance or workplace
conduct.” With no prior
documentation, correction
or disciplinary action in his
personnel file, the Council
had no means of dismissing
Gorayeb for the conduct
that was found in the
report.
Though Gorayeb was an
at-will employee and could
theoretically have been
dismissed for “no cause” at
any time, doing so in these
circumstances would have
meant walking into a legal
minefield. Gorayeb could
have argued plausibly that,
given the existence of the
report, that a “no cause”
termination was a sham, a
“for cause” firing in disguise.
That could have been grounds
for legal action.
Given that a majority of
employees were satisfied
with Gorayeb’s management
and felt the City was more
productive and effective
under his leadership, it seems
that the Council could have
come to terms with Gorayeb
on some form of discipline
to correct objectionable
behavior. The discipline
the Council did propose
— on April 26, very late in
their deliberations — was
unacceptable to Gorayeb, and
all five councilors voted to
accept his resignation without
protest.
Clearly, the Council was
unwilling to retain Gorayeb
as the chief executive of
the City of Sisters when his
conduct included “open and
frequent” use of disparaging
terms for councilors and
community members and
other conduct that was not
“fair and courteous.”
Nothing in the report gives
a clear picture as to why the
Council felt so exposed to
litigation...
The council was, in fact,
willing to pay a substantial
severance package to ensure
that Gorayeb would resign
and depart without legal
entanglements. Nothing in
the report gives a clear picture
as to why the Council felt so
exposed to litigation, other
than the fact that none of the
conduct was an offense that
justified termination. But
Gorayeb resigned. So, why a
$114,000 payout?
Councilor David Asson
said that the council’s action,
which he voted against, was
motivated by “excess concern
regarding the possibility of
reprisal litigation.”
The Council was strongly
motivated to protect the
confidentiality of the
investigator’s report, which
ultimately was released.
They were concerned about
the potential impact of
employees’ statements about
other employees.
Asson
said
the
confidentiality of the report
“was a major factor in all
our deliberations. All five
of us (councilors) were very
concerned about this.”
The report that was
released late on Monday
was redacted by the office
of City Attorney Steve
Bryant to protect the identity
of employees other than
Gorayeb. However, the report
was not thoroughly redacted;
the names of numerous staff
members appeared in the
report. A second version, with
additional redactions, was
released later, but the original
report has already been
widely disseminated.
The City of Sisters
is expected Thursday to
formally hire Rick Allen as a
limited duration city manager,
as the City moves on.
23
The Nugget Newspaper Crossword
By Jacqueline E. Mathews, Tribune News Service
ACROSS
1 “He Ain’t
Heavy, __ My
Brother”
4 Oak tree nut
9 Vexes
13 Possesses
15 Juliet’s love
16 Bar __; with no
exceptions
17 __ moss; soil
enhancer
18 1960s dance
19 Crock-Pot meal
20 Italian staple
22 __ up; spends
23 Sightseeing trip
24 Coolidge’s
nickname
26 Luxury car
29 Artists
34 Went astray
35 Circular
36 Actor Diesel
37 Gets older
38 Human __;
person
39 Kelly or Wilder
40 Kook
41 Cut of beef
42 Sicker
43 Picture on the
wall of a
coastal resort
45 Nun
46 Small batteries
47 __ over;
contemplate
48 Black card
51 Exciting
56 Long walk
57 Pass out
58 Have to have
60 At any time
61 Say
62 Fence opening
63 “__ of the
d’Urbervilles”
64 Suspicious
65 __ away; fled
DOWN
1 Bunny’s move
2 Mothers of
lambs
3 Ginger cookie
4 19th-century
U.S. president
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
14
21
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
35
38
39
41
Cringe in fear
Fail to mention
Sit for a spell
Catching sight
of
Cheap shot
Decomposes
Part of the leg
Uses a Singer
Museum pieces
Egg on
Most common
conjunction
Denims
Quarrel
Actress Garbo
Self-confidence
Female relative
Chris of tennis
Wash off
soapsuds
Look of
contempt
“As ye sow, so
shall ye __”
Like a braggart
Baby waterbird
TV maker of
the past
— Tuesday’s
Last Week’s Puzzle
Puzzle Solved
Solved —
©2016 Tribune Content Agency, LLC
All Rights Reserved.
42 Little Prince
George’s dad
44 Fencing swords
45 Hot and humid
47 Ore seeker
48 Huntley or
Atkins
49 TV’s “One Life
to __”
50 Hawaiian lutes,
for short
52 Abhor
53 Ceremony
54 __ completion;
almost finished
55 __ kick out of;
find humorous
59 Hideaway
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