A letter to the City sent earlier this month by Community Development Director Darlene Mataâs attorney, states Mata will voluntarily resign from her position for a settlement of $1.25 million, after two years of unsuccessful attempts to resolve inappropriate behavior by Councilman Art Brieno.
Attorney Rachele Berglund outlined a nearly two year period where Mata made complaints about Brienoâs behavior to the City, with little action. Berglund writes an investigation into Mataâs allegations found 14 out of 16 allegations were sustained, including the following:
Harassed based on gender; harassed based on actual or perceived disability; subjected to a hostile work environment; suffered invasion of privacy; suffered unlawful disclosure of confidential personnel information; suffered unauthorized disclosure of medical records; and suffered retaliation.
The evidence in an investigation into complaints against City Councilmember Art Brieno details a 20-month period during which City officials knew of Brieno s allegedly inappropriate and potentially illegal behavior involving
Brieno says censure failed to give him due process hanfordsentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from hanfordsentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
The City Council again debated the merits of the censure against Councilman Art Brieno, and decided not to reinstate his travel budget, during Tuesdayâs meeting.
Brienoâs $2,000 travel budget was revoked in March after the Council voted to censure him over a report that substantiated claims by Community Development Director Darlene Mata that the councilman had discriminated against her based on gender, attempted to have her removed from her position and shared her private medical information, among other allegations.
The Council passed the annual budget at last weekâs meeting without voting on the travel budget, promising to bring it back for debate at another meeting.
The only contentious issue in passing the city budget during a special city council session Tuesday was travel funds for Councilmember Art Brieno.
The City Council approved the two-year budget for the 2021-22 and 2022-23 fiscal years, sitting at $81.6 million and $86 million respectively. Financial Director Chris Tavarez said the council is able to change budget items during the year, but passing the budget gives city staff direction.
The single issue the council discussed was whether to reinstate a $2,000 travel budget for Brieno, which was removed when he was censured in March.
The censure was imposed after a report by an independent attorney surfaced which substantiated claims by Community Development Director Darlene Mata that Brieno âtreated her in an unprofessional, inappropriate, dismissive and/or discriminatory manner,â based on her gender.