Veteran Lexington emergency management chief suspended over money. Here's why.
Lexington Herald-LeaderSep 03, 2020
From April to July, Dugger charged the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness program
Dugger has appealed the unpaid suspension to the city's
Dugger and Dugger's office is overseeing the city's coronavirus response efforts, including managing many of the city's mobile testing sites. Dugger's suspension will not affect that effort, said
Deputy Director
"The city's response to the COVID-10 pandemic or any other situation is not dependent upon any one person or division," Straub said.
Dugger told city officials she was given prior approval to charge employee time to that chemical stockpile grant, which is given to counties surrounding the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County. The depot stores chemical weapons and the grant money has helped pay for preparations in case of a leak.
"Conversations with those individuals and a review of documents related to the matter indicate a clear contradiction in her account," the disciplinary letter said.
The disciplinary letter notes Dugger did not personally benefit from charging staff time to that grant but "they were improper and could jeopardize future access to the CSEPP grant and other grants."
Moreover, after a meeting with Public Safety Commissioner
"It was determined within an hour of leaving the meeting, Director Dugger contacted the CSEPP coordinator for her office and discussed both the allocation and the meeting that had just occurred," according to documents related to Dugger's suspension.
Straub said the city will not have to repay any money that was charged to the chemical weapons program grant. The administrator of the CSEPP grant in Frankfort is aware of the issue, she said.
The city typically receives around
According to records in Dugger's personnel file, Dugger has been in trouble with city officials before over CSEPP grant money.
In 2015, she received a written reprimand for "inappropriate and unprofessional" behavior during a meeting with CSEPP officials at a budget meeting in
"The behavior was characterized by two tenured fellow LFUCG Public Safety employees who were also in attendance as rude, obstinate, argumentative and contentious," wrote then-Public Safety Commissioner
Dugger could not be reached for comment.
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