Back on the job, out a few bucks
Reader jwg brought up an interesting question over at Allen Johnson's place regarding Guilford County tax director Jenks Crayton:
"Is Mr. Crayton entitled to reimbursement for his legal expenses?"
Nope, according to county attorney Jonathan Maxwell. He said the county defends employees from job-related lawsuits filed by outside parties, but that policy doesn't apply when workers have disputes with their employer.
"State law doesn't let it apply," he said.
Crayton, now back at work, hired Greensboro attorney Seth Cohen around the time Democratic commissioners suspended the tax director in early April. They cited allegations that Crayton gave out undue tax breaks to Republican commissioner Steve Arnold and others.
A subsequent state investigation cleared Crayton of wrongdoing, and commissioners voted 9-2 on Thursday to return him to work.
Cohen was a central figure during the inquiry, arguing that Crayton's suspension smacked of partisan politics and getting into a heated exchange with chairman Bruce Davis as TV cameras rolled.
Crayton, for his part, said he hadn't tried to get his legal bills covered by his employer.
"I certainly wouldn't mind if my legal expenses were reimbursed," he said, "but I don't believe I'm entitled at all."
"It was a decision that I made," he said of hiring Cohen. "I obviously wouldn't have needed a lawyer at all had this whole affair not proceeded the way that it did."
So how much does it cost do defend yourself against a majority of Guilford County commissioners?
Dunno. Crayton said he and Cohen had agreed on a final bill, but the tax director wouldn't disclose the amount.
Comments (2)
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There's a lot broken in Guilford County surrounding the actions of the Commissioners. I urge them to consider reimbursing Mr. Crayton because their imprudent actions caused this problem and not any of Mr. Crayton's actions. This was shooting a housefly with a howitzer and the collateral damage was significant.
I'm still waiting to hear an apology from the Commissioners to Mr. Crayton and to the citizens of Guilford County.
Posted on May 25, 2005 6:51 PM
I've said it before and I'll say it again, before Guilford County pays a dime for sending Bruce Davis and Paul Gibson to Hawaii they should pay Mr. Crayton's legal expenses in full.
I don't care whether its paid via allocated funds from budgeted travel expense, education expense or by garnishing pay for the 6 directors who foolishly initiated a walk down this pig path.
I realize the garnishment of wages may be over the top, but the initial irresponsible actions of these 6 individuals cost the county untold thousands of dollars. I'm assuming the state of North Carolina did not conduct its audit for free.
Posted on May 26, 2005 7:55 PM