Photo: CBS 12
A now-fired city manager is lashing out at one Stuart city commissioner after his ouster.
Mike Mortell was voted out after a motion to terminate the city manager was made by Commissioner Sean Reed.
He provided records from Mortell's personnel file to CBS 12 News. They include files showing more information about a traffic stop earlier this month in which a deputy let Mortell go despite him having a suspended license.
Mortell is not happy with the records release.
“The fact that he gave those documents to you guys, in and of itself, is despicable to me. It shows he doesn’t care about any of the employees, and the only thing he wants is retaliation against me.”
Mortell says the traffic stop occurred after what he described as a paperwork issue tied to a driving-school course and that he resolved it the following day.
He said he immediately disclosed the stop to the city’s mayor, HR director, and police chief.
Mortell also believes he was "ambushed." He claims that Reed told him termination was not being considered. But then at Monday's meeting, all that changed.
“He (Reed) showed up at the meeting and did a motion to terminate me, which caught me completely off guard clearly he was what we call ambushing. The city’s own Code of Conduct says commissioners shouldn’t ambush staff at meetings — and that’s exactly what happened.”
Mortell also says that the public release of old HR complaints could discourage city workers from reporting misconduct in the future.
He is entitled to $102,000 in severance pay.
Finance Director Louis Boglioli has been named interim city manager.
The Commission will discuss selecting a permanent replacement at its next meeting in early November.