Quit or be fired, town administrator tells four Davie workers
Town administrator's ultimatum to 4 employees spurs mixed reactions
DAVIE Steven Eggnatz thought
he'd been summoned to Town Hall at 4:30 p.m. Friday to discuss budget
cuts.
Instead, the deputy fire chief said Town Administrator Gary Shimun was
waiting with an ultimatum: Quit or be fired.
The same choice was given to Fire Chief Don DiPetrillo, Town Engineer
Larry Peters and Shimun's assistant, Candice Ordway, town officials
say. Now, some here are wondering who might be next.
The spate of firings comes nearly nine months into Shimun's tenure and
two weeks after a lukewarm midyear performance evaluation in which
Councilman Marlon Luis urged Shimun to take firmer control of Town
Hall.
Shimun, 51, oversees a $124 million budget and more than 800 employees
in a town of more than 92,000 residents that has seen its share of
turmoil. In January 2006, the council fired Shimun's predecessor,
Chris Kovanes, amid charges he stole nearly $500,000 from the town. A
year later, the council fired former Town Attorney Monroe Kiar, saying
he failed to flag an improper investment. Later that month, Bill
Underwood resigned under pressure as finance director.
On Saturday, reaction among the Town Council, whose members were
notified of the four dismissals in a 5:35 p.m. e-mail Friday, ranged
from bewilderment and concern to hope for yet more change at the top.
Mayor Tom Truex said he had been caught off-guard and disagreed with
Shimun's decision.
Councilwoman Susan Starkey questioned the wisdom of removing the fire
chief in the middle of hurricane season and worried about finding
replacements during a hiring freeze in a tight budget year.
But Councilman Bryan Caletka praised Shimun for sending a strong
message to town department heads he suspects of underperforming. "They
just learned that the new town administrator is not afraid to pull the
trigger," he said.
While Caletka expressed regret over losing the town's longtime
administrative assistant, he said he was thrilled to see the fire
chief go after clashing several times with him over the Fire
Department budget and other issues.
Councilman Michael Crowley said he hoped Shimun planned more personnel
changes. "I'm not going to micromanage him," Crowley said. "Hopefully,
it's not done yet."
Shimun did not give a reason for asking the employees to resign and is
not required to under state law, town spokesman Braulio Rosa said.
On Friday, Shimun appointed Assistant Fire Chief Joe Montopoli as
acting fire chief but has not yet named an interim town engineer or
deputy fire chief. Shimun, who took the helm in mid-November after
leaving his post as assistant city manager of Pembroke Pines, could
not be reached for comment despite calls to his home and cell phone.
"Sometimes it's time to go," DiPetrillo, 57, said Saturday. "For me,
it was time to go."
DiPetrillo, who was hired as fire chief in March 2001 after 28 years
with Fort Lauderdale Fire Rescue, negotiated what he called a "mutual
termination" that gives him six months' pay.
Eggnatz, who declined to resign and was fired instead, joined
the town more than three years ago after 13 years as assistant fire
chief in Oakland Park.
When Eggnatz saw Human Resources Director Mark Alan in Shimun's office
Friday, he said he realized the town budget was not the topic after
all.
Eggnatz, 48, was still wondering Saturday whether he lost his job for
budgetary or political reasons.
"The chief and I were two top-paying positions," said Eggnatz, a
father of three. "That's where I was going to retire."
Peters and Ordway could not be reached for comment despite repeated
attempts by phone.
Peters, 67, was hired as town engineer in 2002. Ordway, 48,
had served under seven town administrators since joining the town in
1988.
On Saturday, the man who hired Ordway, former Town Administrator
Robert Mearns, expressed dismay at her removal. "I can't understand
this, out of the blue," Mearns said.
Starkey said she'd heard rumors more firings were to come. "It's
pretty scary," she said. "I'm concerned about who's going to be
running the town."
Resident Karen Stenzel-Nowicki has seen many municipal employees come
and go in the 22 years she has lived here. "As Davie turns ... that
says it all," she said Saturday.
Staff Researcher William Lucey contributed to this report.
Susannah Bryan can be reached at
sbryan@sun-sentinel.com
or 954-356-4825.
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