In this July 2012 file photo, then-Owasso city manager Rodney Ray speaks during a press conference. CORY YOUNG/Tulsa World File
OWASSO – The mayor on Wednesday defended the use of municipal money to fund more than a $22,000 investigation that yielded a report that never has been made public.
Attorney Guy Fortney, of Brewster & DeAngelis, P.L.L.C., headed the investigation into Rodney Ray, who was suspended with pay May 24, the same day the City Council ordered a probe into his office on an undisclosed ethics complaint.
Following an executive session at a special meeting June 25, the City Council approved a resignation agreement for Ray, extending him a severance package worth $185,073.
The findings of the investigative report remain in the law firm’s hands, Mayor Doug Bonebrake said.
“It was a necessary use of taxpayers’ money to get this process done,” Mayor Doug Bonebrake said in a telephone interview. “I’m comfortable with it ... It achieved the goals we were looking for.
“From the standpoint of `why aren’t we getting to see the results so we’re wasting our money,’ I have to disagree with that point of view. The council who was elected to did get to see the results and made the decision, more or less, to deal with it in the way that we did.”
For an investigation that ran from May 30 through June 24, the city recently received an invoice from Brewster & DeAngelis for 72.75 billable hours at a cost of $18,893.75, which translates into about $260 per hour, documents show. For the period June 3 to July 3, additional disbursements of $3,740.49 for transcripts, photocopy expenses, postage and the reporting of depositions pushed the total cost to $22,634.24.
The Tulsa World has sought a copy of the report through the Open Records Act. But the request was denied by the city, which cited a section of the Act that says a public body may keep personnel records confidential that “relate to internal personnel investigations, including examination and selection material for employment, hiring, promotion, demotion, discipline or resignation.”
Personnel records not specifically falling within that subsection include “any final disciplinary action resulting in the loss of pay, suspension, demotion of position or termination,” according to the Act.
“There’s obviously argumentation over why this is a personnel matter,” Bonebrake said. “All I can say is that the man worked for the city.”
He added, “If we were to have a copy (of the report), it would be handled by the HR (human resources) director, who was not involved in any of the discussions.” That, the mayor said, “takes away some of the confidentiality of it.”
In his lawsuit alleging violations of the state Open Records and Open Meeting acts, City Councilor Patrick Ross alleges that findings of Fortney’s investigation into Ray were distributed to the council at the June 21 executive session then collected before its conclusion. Ross claims that Bonebrake that it was the only time the panel would get to see the report, according to the petition.
“Over a month’s period of time, I thought (the investigation) was thorough and was more or less what we were hoping to get.” Bonebrake told the Tulsa World. “I understand that people say they would like to be the judge of that. Unfortunately, it falls under the category of being a personnel matter. We can’t just broadcast to everybody to let them decide that.”
Ray’s resignation agreement states that he and the city agree to keep “absolutely confidential” the terms of the agreement, other than disclosure of what is required by law.
The pact makes no mention of the investigative report being subject to nondisclosure.
Related Items
Owasso billed nearly $23,000 for investigative report on ex-city manager Rodney Ray
Owasso
The upgrade from 96th to 106th streets north is a candidate for federal funding assistance.
The former city manager ordered the purging of police videos showing a DUI stop of the vice mayor because he wanted to save the councilor the "embarrassment" of the images reaching the public, a top municipal official said.
