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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Vendettas Endanger Insurance Council May Lose Coverage In Battle With Town Marshal

Town Council members, facing loss of insurance coverage, backed away last week from a plan to quit paying Marshal Jerry Taylor’s salary.

They choked, though, when Taylor’s attorney slapped them with a $15,624 claim for wages that were withheld in January and February and for eight years of unpaid vacation and sick leave.

“People should know that we’re sitting on a live volcano here and it’s really boiling,” Councilman Dan Hite fumed when Taylor’s legal claim was presented.

The claim was submitted to the town’s insurance agency, Cities Insurance Association of Washington. If denied, the claim could pave the way for a lawsuit.

Hite was no happier with the insurance agency than with Taylor. The agency says council members may lose their insurance coverage if they persist in “political vendettas” against Taylor.

Taylor has been the object of council hostility since he and his deputy resigned in August 1993 to protest what they said were improper restrictions on their ability to arrest drunken drivers. Taylor was rehired in January 1994 after voters replaced Mayor Ray Turner, owner of the Pow Wow Tavern, with reform candidate Ernie Gehrke.

Turner attempted to block Taylor’s return by issuing a long-term contract to someone else. The contract was abandoned because it infringed on Gehrke’s power under state law to hire his own employees.

Now Taylor says he wants $3,000 for the two months’ pay he lost in addition to unpaid holiday allowances he says are implied but not spelled out in his contract.

Taylor’s law firm notes that it won a case in which Grant County commissioners tried to force the county clerk to dismiss an employee in July 1993 by withholding pay. The Court of Appeals recently upheld a ruling against the commissioners, which Taylor’s lawyers say may cost the county more than $50,000.

“It’s time the Town of Springdale placed the election behind them and move on,” Cities Insurance Association administrator David Canfield said in a blunt letter last month.

He issued the warning after the council voted Aug. 7 to quit paying Taylor on grounds that he was unfit for duty because his arm was in a sling while he recovered from a shoulder injury. Council members claimed paying Taylor would be an illegal gift of public money, and that use of a disabled marshal might open the city to liability.

Mayor Gehrke said Taylor continues to perform his duties with help from Deputy Brad Hodges.

The town’s attorney, Andrew Braff of Colville, said any council attempt to suspend or reduce Taylor’s pay outside the annual budget process could be considered an illegal firing.

Canfield told council members they would have no insurance coverage if they withheld Taylor’s pay. He said the town’s policy doesn’t cover willful violation of state law or the pursuit of political vendettas. Other towns with similar political upheavals have had their insurance canceled and have been unable to get a new policy anywhere, he warned.

“If the insurance company is taking that attitude, I say we get rid of ‘em,” Hite groused.

Turner said he thought Canfield had been given “misinformation.”

However, Taylor’s pay voucher was signed by all three members of the five-person council who attended Monday’s meeting.

“As long as it was explained to us that it was perfectly legal and we are not on the hook, it’s perfectly fine with me,” said Turner, who was appointed to a council vacancy last year.

Hite and Councilman Bud Brown said the council didn’t fire Taylor even though Stevens County Fire District 1 Chief Dave Phillips said Brown told him on Aug. 7 that both Taylor and his deputy had been dismissed.

, DataTimes