An effort by three Georgetown town council members to remove long-serving town manager Eugene Dvornik stalled last week after Mayor Bill West argued they don’t have enough evidence to justify his ouster and warned Dvornik is currently protected by Delaware’s whistleblower protection act.
The three council members first raised the possibility of removing Dvornik last October, when they unleashed a litany of complaints about the town manager during a conversation about extending his contract for an additional three years.
The council ultimately opted to table consideration of Dvornik's contract, but with the contract set to expire in March, the council members raised the same complaints again at a meeting last week.
Councilman Penuel Barrett, Councilwoman Sue Barlow and Councilwoman Angela Townsend primarily accused Dvornik of being uncommunicative and uncooperative.
“Did I feel that he wanted to work together with us?" Barrett asked. "No. He [only] wanted to work together with certain people.”
The three council members also claimed Dvornik is responsible for low morale among town staffers, citing anonymous complaints from employees who report to Dvornik.
Both Townsend and Barrett point to high attrition at the Georgetown police department as an example, blaming both Barrett and former police chief R.L. Hughes for a series of resignations and lawsuits in recent years. "People were leaving because they were tired of what was going on in Georgetown," Barrett claimed.
But West — a former Delaware State Police officer — argues that most officers leaving the Georgetown police department do so to earn a higher salary than the town can offer. "There are a lot of towns that can't get officers," West said, noting that without exit interviews implicating Dvornik for low morale within the department, the council can't place the blame on the town manager.
West also questioned why town employees would anonymously complain to members of the council instead of raising concerns directly with Dvornik. "When you don't like your supervisor from the beginning, you try to find ways to get him out of the picture," he said. "Now they're trying to get [Dvornik] out of the picture."
To remove Dvornik from office, the council would first need to adopt a preliminary resolution outlining their reasons for his removal; they would then need to hold a public hearing on the decision within less than a month. If they do not renew his contract, Dvornik would remain town manager but would not receive any salary increases.
During last week's meeting, West asserted that without written documentation of Dvornik's impacts on moral or alleged refusals to communicate with council members, any effort to remove Dvornik would likely have legal consequences.
“When you come in and say, ‘he’s done this, he’s done that,’ there’s nothing in writing," he said. "We’ve got to put all this in writing to justify this man being removed. If not, he’s going to fight us in court, and he’s going to win.”
Dvornik's attorney was present for the council meeting, though he did not comment on the council's discussion.
West also reminded the council that Dvornik helped him file a misconduct complaint with the Delaware Department of Justice more than a year ago; until the DOJ completes its investigation, Dvornik is protected as a whistleblower.
Though neither West nor Dvornik could divulge details of the complaint, it is unrelated to a separate ethics complaint against council members for violating public meetings rules when approving funding for the Marvel Carriage Museum. West and Dvornik have previously clashed with council over the council's decision to fund the museum despite its refusal to take down a Confederate flag on its grounds.
As a compromise, West suggested that the council offer Dvornik a one-year contract and use that time to document any misconduct or mismanagement that might justify his removal. The council instead chose to table consideration of Dvornik's contract, leaving the question open.
