Former Greenfield city administrator settles her lawsuit for $425,000

Greenfield's former city administrator, who worked during a turbulent time at City Hall, has reached a $425,000 settlement in her lawsuit against the city and two of its officials.

Susan Johnson Hoffman sued former Mayor Larry Plack and current Council Member Leonard Jankowski in early 2007, alleging that Plack and Jankowski threatened, bullied and ultimately fired her after she accused them of misdeeds.

Throughout the litigation, the defendants maintained that Johnson Hoffman was terminated because of "well-documented performance problems" -- such as bringing her dog to work and refusing to complete basic job duties -- not because she was a whistle-blower.

Johnson Hoffman was "quite satisfied" with the settlement, said her attorney, Todd Johnson.

Plack and Jankowski did not return calls, and their attorney, Julie Fleming-Wolfe, declined to discuss the case. "I don't want to bring it back up again," she said. "One of the reasons to settle is to move on."

Johnson Hoffman, who began as city administrator in 2005, filed four sets of formal complaints with the city between April and May 2006.

In them, she alleged that Plack had berated her in public meetings; that he attempted to purchase property for the city without council authorization; and that, with Jankow- ski, he circumvented the public bidding process by distributing bidding documents to selected contractors, among other things.

After she filed her complaints, Plack and Jankowski "called [her] names, ordered her not to speak at the public council meetings unless specifically directed to do so ... directed derisive comments toward her and her job performance, and threatened her with retaliation," according to a complaint filed on her behalf in Hennepin County District Court.

In September 2006, the City Council fired her on a 3-2 vote. Plack, Jankowski and Council Member Sylvia Walsh voted for dismissal.

In court documents, the defendants said Johnson Hoffman's claims were "an unsubstantiated attempt to attack the defendants, to hurt their reputations and advance her own personal interests."

The settlement, made after court-ordered mediation, "included a full and final release of all claims by [Johnson] Hoffman." The $425,000, plus the defense costs, was paid by the League of Minnesota Cities Insurance Trust, according to a June 10 letter to the city from Fleming-Wolfe.

The case had been scheduled for a jury trial in September.

During that time, Plack was facing misdemeanor charges after it was alleged that he planted a tracking device without a court order in the vehicle of a former employee of his business. He was later convicted.

Plack said in an interview that summer that Johnson Hoffman's allegations were "silly stuff, really nonconsequential stuff."

Depositions and documents

In depositions and other court documents, Plack acknowledged that some of Johnson Hoffman's claims were based on a grain of truth, but then he went on to describe them in a different light.

For example, in Johnson Hoffman's version of one incident, she said she referred to herself as an "old grandma," and "the Mayor replied that ... she was very attractive and sexy and that men look at her all the time," according to an investigation into her complaint.

Plack was voted out of office in 2006. Before leaving, he recommended that Jill Teetzel be hired as the new city administrator, which the council confirmed in a 3-2 vote.

Months later, the new council -- including the new mayor, Jill Krout, one of Plack's most vocal opponents -- terminated Teetzel's employment in February 2007.

Teetzel also filed suit against the city, as well as Krout, in May 2007, claiming breach of contract, defamation, harassment and a violation of the open meeting law.

Teetzel voluntarily dropped the defamation and harassment claims. The judge dismissed the other two. Teetzel is appealing the decision.