A year-long dispute between a Caledonia supervisor and an employee may have landed the town in hot water as the issue threatens to spill over into a lawsuit.
Last week, Town Attorney Jeff Smith presented a conditional memorandum of understanding to Caledonia Mayor George Gerhart, Water Supervisor Benny Coleman and water technician Trey Robertson, attempting to resolve the controversy which began last May when Robertson, who has worked for the department five years, passed a Class B water certification test but says Coleman refused to sign his certification, effectively withholding a $1-per-hour pay raise.
The memorandum required signatures from all three recipients, but Robertson said Tuesday he has no intention of signing the document until his lawyer has reviewed it.
Robertson’s concern stems over the wording of the memorandum, which he feels is tantamount to an admission of guilt and is equivalent to putting himself on probation.
The three-page memorandum states Coleman has not signed his certificate because Robertson has failed to conduct himself “in an exemplary or workman-like manner to the satisfaction of the supervisor.”
Under the terms of the agreement, Robertson would have received his $1-per-hour raise immediately, but that pay-raise could be rescinded if, after 60 days, Robertson had not met the conditions of the agreement to the satisfaction of his supervisor. If he had met those standards, the raise would become permanent.
The terms would have required Robertson to demonstrate his proficiency and workmanship as a water technician, fulfill basic job expectations including punctuality, work attendance, honesty and integrity, and show “basic understanding of work, duty, loyalty and fidelity to supervisor.”
“I just think it’s prolonging the situation,” Robertson said. “(Coleman) has proven he’s not going to sign (the certification), so what makes this any different? None of the tasks he has claimed to be why he’s withholding (signing the) certification are water-related. If it’s disciplinary, it should have been handled a different way. I’ve never been suspended. I’ve never been sent home.”
Much has been made of an ongoing dispute which began last July between Coleman and Robertson’s parents, but Robertson said the two issues are not related, despite statements he made in a grievance letter to the board of aldermen last month in which he alleged Coleman said he wouldn’t discuss signing the certification until the issue with his parents was resolved.
“Some people think I’m just trying to cause problems to keep something stirred up, but that’s not the case,” Robertson said Tuesday. “I’ve told the board in every meeting, and I’ve told Benny several times, that I just want what the board promised, what he promised and what I’ve earned. That was the whole incentive to take the (certification) test.”
Coleman has previously characterized Robertson as “a disgruntled employee” who has taken things out of context. Coleman previously has deferred comment, saying he thinks the issue should be dealt with by the Board of Aldermen.
Though the Board has held numerous closed executive sessions to discuss the issue, there has been no move to take action against Coleman or Robertson. Gerhart questioned the aldermen’s judgment, saying they could have made Coleman sign the certification, but he admitted that though he could have suspended Coleman without pay, he has not taken action either.
“The Board had a chance to resolve this issue and hasn’t,” Gerhart said. “I suspect we will end up in court over this.”
Robertson said he is exploring that possibility, but he declined to name his attorney. He plans to seek back pay for the wages he would have earned if Coleman had signed his certification in June 2011, when he received notification he had passed his certification exam.
Alderman Quinn Parham said today that though he doesn’t feel the board should “micro-manage” the water department, and he hopes the issue doesn’t end in a lawsuit, it does need to reach resolution.
“I don’t think it should be dragged on any further,” Parham said. “It’s dragged on long enough. I hope we don’t (end up in a lawsuit), because we don’t need one. It shouldn’t have gotten to this point, and it’s not in the best interest of the town that it continue. Trey has passed his test, it’s the town’s wishes he be certified, and I think he should be certified so we can move on.”
“Caledonia’s a great place to live,” Robertson said. “I’ve lived here since I was four-years-old. I’d love for it to get back to where it’s not something negative every time I read the paper. But at the same time, I’m not going to let this man run all over me.”
Coleman was contacted by the Dispatch today but declined to comment, reiterating that it is a personnel issue.
Carmen K. Sisson is the former news editor at The Dispatch.
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