Columbus Public Information Officer Joe Dillon is asking the city to pay him $56,773 for hazard mitigation work he’s done over the last four years, but City Attorney Jeff Turnage argues the payment would be illegal.
In May 2019 the council voted to designate Dillon to submit disaster mitigation documentation to the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the wake of the February 2019 EF-3 tornado and flooding events. The tornado devastated parts of Columbus, especially the area around Sim Scott Park, which was destroyed.
According to Dillon, he did the work on the city’s behalf between 2019 and 2023 at a rate of $90 per hour, and he expected to be paid when FEMA reimbursed the city. That money has started to come in, and Dillon submitted an invoice for his work.
Dillon submitted documentation for projects including repairs from flooding at the Terry Brown Amphitheater; debris pickup; road repairs due to culvert collapse on Plymouth Road; the destruction of the Sim Scott Community Center and park; and the flooding at the Riverwalk. The city has received in excess of $1 million in mitigation money across those projects, according to documents Dillon provided the city and The Dispatch. However, the council decided in December 2021 to not seek reimbursement for about $250,000 in work done at Sim Scott after questions arose about whether state bid laws had been followed.
The city originally planned to discuss the matter in open session Tuesday evening but removed it from the agenda after Dillon notified city officials and media members of his grievances that morning via email.
In the email, he waived his right to privacy and asked for the council to discuss the matter in executive session. In an email to The Dispatch just before the council meeting, Dillon said discussion on the issue was pushed to Jan. 2.
No pay rate, no contract
Nobody involved disputes the city chose Dillon to do the work. However, when the council voted to hire him, it did not set a rate of pay.
The pay issue is the sticking point, City Attorney Jeff Turnage said.
“There was no agreed-on hourly rate or fee, and now he’s saying it’s $90 per hour,” Turnage told The Dispatch Tuesday morning. “The essential element of a contract is having a price, and here there isn’t one.”
Without an agreement on a pay rate, there is no contract, and therefore no obligation for the city to pay Dillon, Turnage said.
Dillon told The Dispatch Tuesday afternoon he didn’t think that was his fault.
“I didn’t know to ask for that,” Dillon said. “Somebody with the city should have realized they didn’t ask for that. In the past when there’s been a motion that’s not clear, the city attorney would ask for clarification. I understand now, but I didn’t at the time that (the hourly rate) should have gone in there.”
Dillon said the hourly rate was arrived at later, during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The council voted for me to do the applications for COVID-19 aid,” Dillon said. “That was a median rate. I called several consulting companies that do it as a full time service, and that rate I felt was fair and was at the low end of what other places charged.”
Also at issue is the fact that some of Dillon’s invoices date back to 2019. Turnage said state law prohibits the city from paying anything that’s more than three years old.
Dillon said he was told to wait to submit his invoices.
“(Then-Chief Financial Officer Deliah Vaughn) told me to wait and ask for reimbursement after the city got its mitigation money,” Dillon said. “They’ve got the money now.”
Vaughn was CFO in 2019, which was during the administration of Mayor Robert Smith. She resigned in September 2021, leaving the CFO’s office vacant until James Brigham was hired in March 2022.
Dillon: Turnage should recuse himself
In a letter to the council included in his email, Dillon also asked that Turnage — as well as Mitchell McNutt as a law firm — recuse themselves from the discussion.
“I have hired and used the services of multiple attorneys at Mitchell McNutt, including Mr. Turnage,” Dillon wrote. “… Because of this prior activity, the firm has prior knowledge of me and my situations and is aware of private information not available to the public that could be used to benefit the city.”
Turnage, in an email to the mayor and council, denied a conflict exists.
“Although I have done some legal work for (Dillon) in the past and a couple of my partners also have, I have not done any legal work for (Dillon) for years and neither have any of my partners,” Turnage wrote. “… Nothing any of us at Mitchell McNutt did for (Dillon) has anything to do with this present collection claim.”
Council reactions
Members of the council contacted Tuesday by The Dispatch said they were willing to hear Dillon out, but they didn’t think there was much the city could do if there wasn’t a contract of some kind.
Vice Mayor and Ward 2 Councilman Joseph Mickens told The Dispatch Tuesday afternoon if a contract existed, he thought it should be honored.
“The city ain’t trying to get out of paying nobody our debts,” Mickens said. “If we owe him, we should pay him, but he would have to produce a contract. We can’t give away city funds without a legal contract.”
Ward 4 Councilman Pierre Beard said he didn’t think the city could legally pay Dillon.
“From the research I’ve done I figure it’s illegal for us to pay him,” Beard said. “He didn’t have a contract with us. I’m still digging into that, but I don’t think there was a contract ever created.”
Ward 5 Councilman Stephen Jones agrees.
“At the end of the day, there’s no contract,” Jones said. “If there’s no contract, the city can’t pay you.”
The Dispatch was unable to contact Ward 1 Councilwoman Ethel Stewart, Ward 3 Councilman Rusty Greene and Ward 6 Councilwoman Jacqueline DiCicco by press time.
An earlier version of the story contained an incomplete quote by Jeff Turnage. We regret the error.
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