Greene intends to sue the city for wrongful termination, defamation, conspiracy and interfering with her contract, according to a letter sent to the city last month.
It remained unclear Wednesday who first had the idea to hire Meeks, a former councilman who lacks nearly all the qualifications the city has sought for the post.
Ignoring a national search effort for a new city manager, the Portsmouth City Council voted to hire a former councilman for the job, then immediately backpedaled and voted against his appointment since he never submitted an application.