(Court Reports – Photo Illustration/MetroCreative)
MARIETTA — A former city engineer is suing the City of Marietta for breach of contract.
Bob Heady filed a complaint in the Washington County Court of Common Pleas in July listing the city, Mayor Johsua Schilcher and Safety Service Director Steven Wetz as defendants and accusing them of breach of contract over a severance agreement.
The city filed a response in August, seeking the dismissal of the suit and denying almost all of its claims.
No city representative had spoken publicly about the litigation until Marietta City Councilman Michael Scales, D-1st Ward, during Thursday’s council meeting mentioned scheduling a Finance Committee meeting to conduct an executive session related to “the former city engineer.”
Heady was hired as city engineer in February 2023. The suit says that in that role he had an obligation to ensure submitted capital improvement and development plans met any and all laws, statutes, codes and regulations.
According to the suit, an unnamed developer turned in “deficient” land development plans and a permit application to the city in September 2023 and Heady rejected them and required the developer to resubmit corrected plans.
Heady alleges in the complaint that the city, Schilcher and Wetz issued a letter on Sept. 26, 2023, to the developer stating the regulatory and code requirements were waived. This was followed in December by the city, Schlicher and Wetz ordering Heady not to communicate with the developer, the complaint said.
On Dec. 27, according to the complaint, Heady, Schilcher and Wetz met with the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency about issues with the developer’s permitting requests. The complaint said the state agency determined if Heady’s position on the enforcement of required codes and regulations was not followed then the city of Marietta would be in violation of state law.
The complaint alleges the developer responded by filing a complaint against Heady with the Ohio Board of Engineers and the Ohio Architects Board and the city.
Schlicher and Wetz issued a letter Jan. 29 stating they intended to discharge Heady from employment, the complaint said. It claims the notice included a “misstatement” that Heady was retaliating against and disparaging the developer by forcing them to follow all necessary codes and regulations.
After Heady filed an appeal with the Civil Service Commission, the complaint said, he and the city entered into a severance agreement.
Under it, Heady would withdraw his appeal and unemployment claim and submit a resignation backdated to Feb. 17. He was to be paid $33,500 within 30 days of the full execution of the terms, according to the agreement. Heady was also to receive an additional $12,852 as compensation for unused accrued leave and compensatory time.
In addition, the city was to make its standard 18.25% contribution to Heady’s retirement and withhold and make Heady’s 5.75% contribution. He was to remain on health, dental and vision insurance coverage through the city until June 28, as long as he continued to pay his premium.
The agreement also said the city would remove the notice of intent to discharge and notice of discharge from employment letters from Heady’s personnel file and keep them in a separate file in Wetz’s office.
“Immediately following the full execution of this agreement, the city will release a ‘joint statement’ to The Marietta Times and on its Facebook page,” the agreement said.
The agreement had specific wording listed for the statement, which included the city calling Heady leaving a voluntary resignation, the city retracting statements and questions mentioned in a March 12 Times article and apologizing to Heady for unnecessary hastiness in making those statements prior to finalizing their “employment conversation.”
The city submitted a letter to the editor with almost the same words as the statement listed in the agreement. It ran in the May 18/19 edition of the Times and on the city’s Facebook Page May 21.
The agreement also stated that the city would provide Heady or prospective future employers a neutral letter of recommendation.
But the complaint claims the “defendants have intentionally failed to comply with the terms of the agreement, have failed to comply with the timing of terms of the agreement and have failed to comply with the spirit of the contract.”
It also said the city did not pay the required amount for the insurance premiums or the retirement contribution. It also said the city has failed to work with Heady to issue a joint public retraction.
The lawsuit does not ask for a specific amount of damages. It requests a jury trial.
The city filed an answer to Heady’s complaint on Aug. 19 requesting all claims be dismissed and seeking an award of costs including attorney fees. It denied most of the allegations, but did acknowledge directing Heady not to talk to the developer.
Zachary Swisher, the attorney representing Heady, said his client provided faithful service to the city and was terminated for voicing concerns that were important to citizens.
“It is unfortunate Mr. Heady was forced to bring a lawsuit to enforce (the) severance agreement and to obtain the benefits he bargained for in good faith,” Swisher said via email. “Mr. Heady is hopeful that a resolution can be achieved.”
Marietta Law Director Paul Bertram III declined to comment on the matter since it is part of ongoing litigation.
Michelle Dillon can be reached at mdillon@newsandsentinel.com