Commissioners stay mum on cause of Williams' firing

ELYRIA — County commissioners have yet to give a reason behind Wednesday's firing of County Administrator Tom Williams. The two Republican commissioners also are at odds over the situation, with David Moore blaming Michelle Hung for what he said could be a million-dollar liability for the county and its taxpayers. Williams spent seven months and two weeks as county administrator, at an annual salary of $149,000 and with a six-figure severance package, before he was fired in a 2-1 vote by the commission Wednesday. Hung and Democratic Commissioner Matt Lundy voted to fire Williams, while Moore voted "hell no." His lone vote failed to save his former campaign manager's county job. Lundy and Hung confirmed Thursday that Deputy County Administrator Rob Weber, hired in January to serve as Williams' deputy, is serving as interim county administrator until a replacement for Williams is found. All of that was news to Moore, when he was asked Thursday who the acting county administrator was. "You will have to ask the Hung-Lundy team that have created this current disaster at the county. It seems as if personnel decisions are now and have been made these past six weeks outside the commissioners board meetings that I am excluded from," he said. Williams served as Moore's campaign manager in his 2020 election campaign. Moore said Wednesday he had been trying to save Williams' job for the past six weeks during lengthy, closed-door discussions with his fellow commissioners. Williams has a severance package worth at least $225,000 that could be activated unless commissioners fired him "for cause." Reasons he might not be able to collect that severance package would be a felony arrest, drug or alcohol use that interfered with his duties or "fraudulent or dishonest conduct" in his dealings with or on behalf of the county. Asked for the reason behind Williams' termination, Hung remained vague. "Mr. Williams no longer works for the county. As I said yesterday (Wednesday), the majority of the board decided that it is best to part ways. We wish him well," she said Thursday. "The board has moved on today doing the work the residents expect from us. Today we worked on items of business with our directors that needed to be addressed immediately. Our interim County Administrator Rob Weber did an excellent job today, and he is committed to working together for our residents." Weber ran as the Republican candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Ohio's Ninth Congressional District in the November general election, but lost to Democratic U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur. His rate of pay when he was hired was $43.27 an hour, or just about $86,540 a year. Under the terms of Williams' employment, set out by commissioners in a resolution dated Jan. 4, his severance must be paid out within 30 days of his termination unless commissioners have fired him "for cause." Lundy, who objected to Williams' severance package when he was hired Jan. 4, said commissioners have 30 days to make a decision on the severance. Hung did not comment on Williams' severance when a reporter posed a question to her about the matter. Moore said whether or not the county pays Williams, "that's on team Hung/Lundy." "Based on what I know, I am concerned for the taxpayers of Lorain County. I believe that Hung has potentially exposed the county to over $1 million of liabilities. Let's be clear, Hung and Lundy took the actions that has put us in this position today," he said. Contact Dave O'Brien at (440) 329-7129 or dobrien@chroniclet.com. Follow him at @daveobrienCT on Twitter.