“For me, I believe there’s been enough secrecy about this topic and it’s time to air it out.”
Vice-Chair Josh Brugger defended the commission’s unusual decision not to go into closed session Tuesday night to discuss John Gibb’s settlement, after a vote to enter closed session failed.
Then, in a 7-4 vote, the Commission agreed the County would pay Gibbs $190,000, one-third of which will go toward his attorney’s fees. The deal would also remove any reference to Gibb’s termination from his employee file.
In turn, Gibb’s will release all claims against the county and against Commissioner and former Chair Joe Moss. Moss was one of four who voted no on the settlement.
“It’s a horrible deal.”
Last February, the board voted to fire Gibbs shortly after he was put on administrative leave. Moss released numerous allegations to the public made by two county employees hired by Gibbs. Gibbs has denied those claims.
Recently elected Chair John Teeples said it’s time to help the community move forward.
“This comes down to, in many ways, again, this board trying to fix the mistakes of the prior board and save taxpayer dollars. It’s not pretty for anybody. Nobody likes this situation, but we need to make a practical decision for the sake of this community.”
Gibbs still needs to approve the settlement.
