Judge’s Dismissal of Lawsuit against City Administrator to Be Appealed
A ruling by St. Charles County Circuit Judge Jon Cunningham dismissing a request for a restraining order against St. Charles City Administrator Allan Williams will be appealed,” says Councilman.
Councilman John Gieseke who along with Councilmen Joe Koester, Mark Brown and Councilwoman Dottie Greet filed the request for the restraining order said, “We have told our attorney to appeal the decision of the judge and he will be filing a motion to have the judge’s ruling set aside.”
Williams, who signed a contract with the City calling for a yearly contract renewal, has refused to leave his office even though his contract has not been renewed. Williams and City Attorney Mike Valenti are saying that the City Charter says the City Administrator will be appointed for an “indefinite time” and they claim the Charter overrules the signed contract that calls for yearly renewals. The one year renewal of the contract was asked for by Williams when during contract negotiations the Council suggested a six month renewal.
At a recent meeting of the City Council a motion was made to renew Williams’s contract. It failed on a five to five vote. Williams then brought up his argument that the Charter supercedes the contract and he holds the office of City Administrator indefinitely.
Several members of the Council have refused to accept the argument put forth by Williams and Valenti and have refused to recognize him as City Administrator. They have also discovered that in an apparent attempt to bypass the Council on financial matters, Williams has started breaking down contracts with some vendors in multiple contracts so that any one contract does not exceed $20,000. Williams has authority to approve contacts under $20,000 without Council Approval. If Williams’s contract would have been renewed he would have received medical insurance coverage for life plus a substantial retirement.
