MetCom board members Steve Willing (l) and John Carey just before the vote to ouster Executive Director Scott Bundy.
California, MD — The St. Mary’s County Metropolitan Commission (MetCom), on a 4-2 vote, has refused to accept Executive Director Scott Bundy’s request that his resignation be rescinded, effectively firing him immediately. The motion introduced by former chairman Steve Willing called for Bundy (see photo at left. foreground) ) to take his personal belongings when he left the building and “have no further access to any MetCom facilities.”
Willing’s motion came quickly after Bundy made the request at MetCom’s Aug. 25 meeting to remain as executive director. He said he talked to staff and the majority supported him. “I thought long and hard about my future here,” Bundy said in making the request.
But apparently Bundy’s criticism of the board when he announced his resignation weighed heavily on those who supported Willing’s motion. According to the motion, Bundy will continue to be on administrative leave until September 30th, the date of his originally announced leaving.
The motion also announced that former Executive Director Dan Ichniowski had agreed to act as interim director effective September 6th until a new director is hired. Regarding Willing’s motion, board member Mike Mummaugh, who voted against the motion, told TheBayNet “I was very surprised he (Willing) went to Dan Ichniowski without talking to the rest of the board.”
Board Chairman Bryan “Puff” Barthelme was also unaware of what was happening until the motion was made. Barthelme wondered out loud the legality of board members on their own arranging for the employment of an interim executive director.
MetCom attorney Jacquelyn Meiser has been a lightning rod in relations among board members. Bundy noted the decision to replace Meiser with a contract attorney and said he would have been willing to stay under either set of circumstance involving Meiser.
After the meeting was over and several members had left, including Barthelme, Willing was asked who would be interim director until Ichniowski comes on board. At first, he said the organization would run with department heads just as it had done with Bundy’s recent “unauthorized leave” for a family emergency in North Carolina.
However, after huddling with Meiser Willing said that she would be the interim executive director because she was the most senior person on the staff. Vice Chairman Bob Russell told TheBayNet to make sure that information was included in the story. “Make sure you get it right,” he saId.
Mummaugh told TheBayNet that legislation prevented MetCom’s attorney from serving as executive director and wondered if it was legal for her to assume the two positions even for a brief time.
Board member Mike Thompson also voted against the motion along with Mummaugh (chairmen can only vote to break a tie). Before the vote, Thompson said if the motion carried it would send a bad signal in attempting to find a new director. “I am not sure who would want to come here,” he said.
Barthelme said he had talked to some MetCom employees and they supported Bundy. “Everyone deserves a second chance and he hasn’t even had a first chance,” Barthelme said. Bundy had been with MetCom for about nine months.
Barthelme pressed Willing if he had also talked to employees., Willing said he had, several months ago, but would not name them.
Newest board member John Carey asked Bundy what changed his mind about wanting to stay. Bundy said, in part, it was Carey’s appointment. “I thought you would bring some stability to the board,” he said. Carey them voted along with Willing, Bob Russell and Alice Gaskins to summarily dismiss Bundy.
The banished executive director cleared out his desk and left with his work boots under his arm. As he was leaving, he said nothing like that had ever happened in his professional life. Earlier he told TheBayNet that the board members who ousted him didn’t care anything about MetCom’s employees.
St. Mary’s County Commissioner John O’Connor [R: 3rd District] agreed. He supplied the following statement to TheBayNet about the developments at the Aug. 25 MetCom meeting: “ MetCom board has become a three-ring circus that is an embarrassment to St. Mary’s County, its employees, the citizens of the county and the customers it serves. I truly feel bad for the employees and that they are at the mercy of a few whimsical madmen who just can’t seem to get it together. This is why I voted to remove certain board members and replace them with new members when their appointments were up., Unfortunately, I was out voted. I saw the writing on the wall, and now hopefully everyone else does.”
Contact Dick Myers at dick.Myers@thebaynet.com