Former Iola Administrator Judy Brigham filed suit against the city of Iola, six of its eight sitting council members and Iola Attorney Chuck Apt in federal court on Thursday.
Brigham was dismissed last fall two weeks before she was due to retire after serving the city just shy of 32 years.
“It was one of the most difficult things I’ve ever done,” Brigham said of the court action.
“Absolutely the last thing I would ever do is hurt my city, but I was left with no option,” she said in a phone conversation Friday afternoon. “It almost feels like a divorce.”
Brigham had been city administrator since 2006. She began with city in 1979.
Brigham charges wrongful termination against the six of eight council members who voted for her dismissal. They are Ken-dall Callahan, Beverly Franklin, Steve French, James Kilby, Ken Rowe and Scott Stewart.
Brigham alleges the city dismissed her despite her never hearing of any complaints by higher-ups. As city administrator she had never received a performance review.
Brigham also alleges complaints of sexual harassment from city employees about Craig Abbott, a former city commissioner, factored in her dismissal.
In January 2010, Brigham alleges city employees came to her saying Abbott made “sexually inappropriate and unwelcome statements to them.”
Brigham said she reported the accusations and that Abbott wrote an apology to the employees.
Brigham maintains members of the council dismissed her in part as retaliation for her reporting Abbott’s actions.
The suit also singles out councilmen Rowe and Callahan for “knowingly, willfully and maliciously” making untrue statements about Brigham with regards to the city’s budget.
The council approved Iola’s budget on Sept. 12, 2011, with no questions asked.
The city council then hired the firm of Swindoll, Janzen, Hawk and Loyd, LLC., McPherson, in December, 2011, to conduct an in-depth audit. To date, no findings have been made public.
BESIDES a loss of a portion of her benefits from Kansas Public Employees Retirement System, her unused sick leave, and the ability to be on the city’s health insurance plan as a retired employed, Brigham also cites she has undergone emotional distress, “humiliations, embarrassment and insult.”
