After sailing on rough waters for a long time, upset by allegations of bullying and harassment on the one hand and corrupt administration practices on the other, the Stevensville Town Council seemed to have hit some calmer waters this year. That may change at the next council meeting. Not only is the suspension of Council President Bob Michalson for unbecoming conduct on the agenda, another item will no doubt entail new allegations against the Mayor for signing a service agreement with an IT consulting firm for $2,500 a month without Council approval. The issues appear to be somewhat connected.
A resolution to suspend Michalson was placed on the agenda by Councilmembers Dempsey Vick and Jaime Devlin. The resolution notes that Michalson has “a documented history of conduct that could be considered to poorly reflect on the Town Council and the Town of Stevensville.” It states that members of the Town Council are aware of possible infractions of the Town’s Code of Conduct by Michalson, including inappropriate contact with staff and department heads, representing the Town without express authority or permission to do so, and making personal comments about other members, their opinions and actions.
They recognize the Council’s responsibility “to educate and, when necessary, discipline other Councilmembers who violate the Town’s Code of Conduct.” They claim Michalson failed to follow established process for requesting public records by disseminating a record containing information that may have put the Town’s Information Technology System at risk and that he may have committed the offense of forgery by submitting an agenda item to the Town Clerk containing the signature of Councilmember Dempsey Vick, however, the agenda item had been altered between the time that Councilmember Vick signed the document and submittal to the clerk’s office.
The resolution, if approved, states that it is in the Town’s best interest to suspend Michalson from the council for his unbecoming conduct and actions “without pay until further notice, effective immediately.”
Council President Michalson said in a phone interview that the Councilmembers did not have the right to suspend him.
“They cannot put it in a resolution and they definitely cannot suspend me,” said Michalson. “I am an elected official. You can quote me on this. I have yet to see an elected public official get sent home without pay.”
He said the only way they could get rid of an elected official was to vote him out, through a recall election (although he claims this cannot be done by the council but only by a member of the public) or convene a tribunal, which Michalson said requires a real judge.
Michalson said, “I don’t quite understand why Council member Vick would sign an agenda item with me and then turn around and take his name off and file all this stuff against me. I just don’t get it.”
Both Councilmembers Vick and Devlin declined to discuss the issue, stating that Town Attorney Scott Owens had advised them not to discuss the items in the resolution with the press until the council meeting.
Owens did not return phone calls about the process from the Star on Friday or Monday, but Mayor Brandon Dewey said that he had been in consultation with the Town’s attorney over the issue and he believed it was a valid agenda item and that the council could consider disciplining Michalson and the discipline could include suspension.
Dewey said that his new staff members were being harassed and bullied by Michalson. He said it was like a déjà vu. He said one employee was threatened in a way that echoes the claims made in former town clerk Aubrey Tribbensee’s lawsuit against the town.
The recent alleged harassment has primarily been done by telephone.
“He makes repeated calls demanding things from the staff,” said Dewey. He also accused Michalson of lying to Councilmember Vick and interfering in Town business by calling a company to tell them that the contract they had with the Town was not valid.
That contract is also on the next agenda. It is a service contract that the mayor signed on December 12, 2019 with First Call Computer Solutions, an IT consulting company. Michalson claims the contract is illegal because it was not approved by the council.
Dewey claims that the Town’s attorney looked at the issue and was preparing an opinion that signing the contract “was O.K.” He said instead of asking the town attorney about it, Michalson called the company and told them that their contract was not valid. He got the council to refuse to pay the latest claim for services at the last meeting and now says that’s why the Mayor had to put it on the agenda. Dewey claims that the Town Attorney has examined the contract question and told him that it was “okay that he signed it.”
The Council meets next on Thursday, March 12 at Town Hall at 7 p.m.