Basalt council ponders $250,000 settlement with former manager Scanlon
The Aspen Times
Aspen Times file photo |
The Basalt Town Council will vote in a public session today on whether to accept a $250,000 settlement with former manager Mike Scanlon.
Neither party admits wrongdoing or liability under terms of the proposed settlement.
The settlement includes $112,500 for “full and complete settlement of Scanlon’s claims for wages.” It also includes $50,000 for Scanlon’s “noneconomic damages,” but doesn’t specify what they were. The final $87,500 will go for Scanlon’s attorney fees.
The payout will be split between the town government and its insurer, Travelers Insurance, according to Alice Powers, an attorney for the insurer.
The checks must be delivered within three weeks of the settlement approval.
“Scanlon agrees that he will dismiss any and all filings, claims or actions that he may have filed against respondents, and will not pursue any further action against respondents,” the proposed agreement says.
Neither party can make disparaging or defamatory remarks about the other. If the town receives inquires from prospective employers of Scanlon, it agrees to provide only his dates of employment, job title and rates of pay. Town officials cannot provide opinions, the agreement states.
Scanlon terminated his contract in August and left town abruptly after a series of disputes with some members of the board.
He filed a notice of claim in December that contended the town owed him for lost wages and benefits, attorney’s fees and costs in an amount “that may exceed $500,000.” He contended the town violated his First Amendment-guaranteed freedom of speech, breached his contract, intentionally interfered with his contract, intentionally interfered with prospective business relations and defamed him.
Scanlon never filed a lawsuit. Instead, the sides agreed this spring to nonbinding mediation. Travelers Insurance was part of the process, and Powers handled many of the negotiations on behalf of the town. Powers is scheduled to discuss the settlement with the council via telephone at today’s meeting at 5 p.m. Scanlon signed the agreement June 19.
New Town Manager Ryan Mahoney also makes his debut at the meeting. He started Monday. Mahoney was previously development services director in Marana, Arizona.
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