Kathi Hurtgen laments that the Ethics Board didn’t give her a chance to speak about her complaints against her boss, Gregg McManners.
Madison’s Ethics Board spent two meetings in September wrangling over whether it should hear complaints brought by Kathi Hurtgen against her boss, Gregg McManners, executive director of Monona Terrace.
Hurtgen’s allegations never got a hearing, and on Oct. 25, the board dismissed her complaints in less than 20 minutes.
Hurtgen, who is associate director of finance and operations at the convention center, claims that McManners had routinely circumvented the city’s rules on bidding for competitive projects, including requirements for contractors to have an affirmative action plan in place. She also alleged that Monona Terrace had improperly been holding the checkbook for the Friends of Monona Terrace, a nonprofit group set up to support the center. She also charged that the center had committed time card fraud.
Three of the complaints were dismissed on the basis that they happened more than a year ago. Two other allegations — that McManners awarded a $100,000 contract to Hiebing Group without going out to bid and that Monona Terrace was improperly keeping the checkbook for Friends of Monona Terrace — were dismissed on the grounds that the board did not have jurisdiction to hear them.
Board member Drew Cochrane argued that allegations centered on the fact that McManners violated the law. Cochrane said that the board was never intended to hear complaints about illegal behavior.
“I don’t think that’s a reasonable interpretation, and it’s not consistent with what we’ve done in the past,” Cochrane told the board.
Fellow board member James Cobb noted that city departments determined there was no violation of city policies.
Leslie Elkins, one of Hurtgen’s lawyers, disagreed with the board’s interpretation. After the meeting, she told Isthmus that the city’s ethics code is pretty clear. It states that city officials “shall not exceed their authority or breach the law or ask others to do so.”
As previously detailed by Isthmus, Hurtgen says she’s been raising concerns about violations of city policy and law at Monona Terrace for years, but hasn’t been able to get anyone to listen to her.
She left the meeting frustrated that, once again, neither her nor her lawyer were allowed to present their case to the board. “I wish I had a chance to speak,” Hurtgen said.
McManners seemed prepared for the outcome. Asked for a comment after the meeting, he handed out a printed statement with the heading “Statement 1: Dismissal scenario for media.”
It read, in part, “I believe what this complaint boils down to is that Ms. Hurtgen is determined to have the only right answer. Let me assure you that there is more than one right answer with the realm of ethical business practices, especially as you weigh what is in the best interest of Monona Terrace.”
Hurtgen also has a complaint filed with the state’s Department of Workforce Development’s equal rights division, alleging that McManners has retaliated against her because of the complaint. Elkins says she and her client have not yet decided what other options they will pursue.
