Press Release:

Mayor Bret Brodersen

As the mayor of Tenino I can assure every citizen that I analyze all decisions I make to ensure that they are made in the city's best interest, with guidance from legal counsel, even if they may not be popular. The difficult decision to make a change in leadership was not due to personality conflicts as has been incorrectly claimed as a reason. The only individual stating personality conflicts was Council member Fournier during a meeting. While I had tried to make the change in leadership of the police department low key, out of respect for Mr. Hutchings professional reputation, and I believe my responses last week to the media had proven that as my intention. In the City of Tenino, department heads are defined as at will employees, which allows them to be terminated without cause, this can allow for changes in staff without stating a reason. It is unfortunate that Mr. Hutchings, Mr. Fournier, and Mr. OCallahan did not join me in that endeavor. Given the mounting criticism and pressure from social media sites I want to provide the public the background about the reasoning for a change in leadership. I am only releasing this information to allow transparency to my decision making process to move the police department in a new direction with new leadership. Mr. Hutchings was hired by former mayor Eric Strawn in July 2012. Mr. Hutchings actively participated in negotiating the terms of his employment, particularly to ensure that his employment with Tenino did not interfere with his retirement benefits. In February 2013 a majority of the council voted to adjust the job description from full time to less than full time with a not to exceed number of hours of 159.5 per month without reducing the salary. This action allowed Mr. Hutchings to continue to receive his retirement benefits, and work less than full time with Tenino. Additionally the City agreed to pay an amount in lieu of retirement contribution to Mr. Hutchings for a total monthly salary of $4,428.00 from Tenino. The City of Tenino is currently appealing an audit finding from the Washington State Department of Retirement Systems (DRS) related to hours that Mr. Hutchings had reported in contrary to the terms to which he negotiated and agreed to in his employment letter. The number of hours reported on the time sheets were in excess of the hours that Mr. Hutchings and the City had agreed to for his employment. This excess reporting of hours exposes the city to a significant financial penalty, which if assessed, would be an uninsured cost to the City and paid directly into Mr. Hutchings retirement account at the DRS. This audit finding could potentially cost the City and its citizens a substantial amount of money and could result in cuts to City services.

(360) 264-2368 Fax (360) 264-5772

City of Tenino 149 Hodgden St. S PO Box 4019

Tenino, WA 98589

As soon as the City was notified of the finding, steps were taken to ensure that Mr. Hutchings did not report and/or work hours in excess of the agreed to hours to ensure proper reporting to the DRS. City Council was fully advised of the finding and resulting appeal on numerous occasions beginning in October of 2014. The most recent update was provided to the city council at its meeting March 24, 2015. The City is incurring additional costs to petition this liability, and doing everything possible to prevent a monetary penalty which could cripple the Citys budget. Recently it became apparent that Mr. Hutchings had added a Reserve Police officer to the city payroll, done without the authority of the Mayor or City Council. The total amount paid to the Reserve Officer over the past several months amounts to $10,574.00, and was not approved or budgeted for in the City budget. This payment was in violation of TMC (City Law) 2.16.050 which establishes a reserve program that is an all-volunteer force, and TMC 2.16.080 which prohibits the payment of reserve officers by the City of Tenino. These paid assignments were stopped effective immediately on March 20, 2015. Staff involved in this addition to the payroll have received disciplinary action and processes have been established to prevent this from happening in the future. Additionally Mr. Hutchings had engaged in activities beyond his authority in proposing, negotiating, and signing contracts as an unauthorized agent of the City without approval of his supervisor the Mayor, or by the direction of City Council to do so. Mr. Hutchings did not have the authority to suggest, modify, or contract for terms on behalf of the City, unless directed specifically to do so by Council or the Mayor. This type of behavior exposes the city to potential liability that cannot be tolerated. This action was addressed with Mr. Hutchings on several occasions, and was violated even after warning to him. The City Council was advised of these issues during their most recent meeting on March 24, 2014. Additionally, Mr. Hutchings management and development of the departments budget request was not at the level needed to efficiently manage limited City funds, which in light of our recovering financial condition is crucial. Several other matters not included in this release include the handling of police files, authorization to pay City liabilities, and otherwiseall of which led ultimately to my decision to terminate Mr. Hutchings. I want to publicly state that my intention is to fill the position of police chief as quickly as practical. It has never been my intention to abandon a police force or contract with another jurisdiction. Every budget I have ever presented to the council funded the police department at current levels, which the City could afford. So accusations that I do not support the Police Department are factually incorrect. I look forward to bringing new leadership to the police department that continues to serve the needs of the citizens of Tenino and build the department to the best of its potential. The city will be recruiting for a police chief that will continue building the department while providing for the public safety. Once this position is filled the City of Tenino will have four law enforcement officers. I hope that this response can satisfy the publics desire to know my reasoning, and I hope this explanation can allow our community to move forward. It is unfortunate that the use of personal social media sites, and otherwise, have served to give a public impression that our government is fractured or divided, when in fact, our City Council and City staff have worked diligently and successfully together to recover from past setbacks. We endeavor to move forward in the best interest and health of our community. I thank Mr. Hutchings for his service to Tenino and wish him all the best in future endeavors.