The attorney for fired Forsyth County planning director Jeff Chance called emails introduced in a hearing Thursday “smoking gun” evidence that Chance was fired because of politics and retaliation for blowing the whistle on the county’s handling of a zoning matter in the spring of 2010 and argued Chance should get his $92,000-a-year job back.
The Chance case has lingered in Forsyth since he was fired in August 2010 for violations of numerous county policies and -- in revelations that made national news -- sexually and racially charged emails were found on his office computer.
Thursday was Chance’s second appeal before the three-member Civil Service Board, which in December reaffirmed his firing but was sharply critical of the way county management and the commission handled the dismissal.
“The investigation and eventual discipline against [Chance] was motivated in part by improper political motives and accompanied by a poor quality investigation,” wrote Civil Service Board hearing officer Dana Miles in the board’s decision, which concluded the board had no “jurisdiction” to use the evidence of political motives to restore Chance’s job.
Chance’s attorney Eric Chofnas appealed to superior court and a judge ruled this summer that the Civil Service Board has the jurisdiction to determine if Chance’s firing was “pretextual” – that is, his dismissal was motivated by politics and not purely because he violated county policies. The judge ruled that if that's the case, the board has the authority to give him his job back.
Chofnas argued Thursday that emails sent in April 2010 from former planning commissioner Brant Meadows to three Forsyth County commissioners regarding Chance’s handling of a zoning matter confirm Chance was the victim of coordinated political retaliation. The emails were only recently discovered and were entered into evidence Thursday.
Meadows and Chance had sharply disagreed over the handling of Conditional Use Permit for a salvage yard. The newly discovered emails prove “it wasn’t just Meadows acting like Meadows,” Chofnas told the board. “It involved [commissioners] Harrell, Boff and Laughinghouse.” There was no evidence, however, that the commissioners responded to Meadows' emails.
The Civil Service Board ruled in December that Chance violated three of the 12 county regulations he was accused of violating. That doesn’t matter, Chofnas argued Thursday: “Jeff’s termination was illegal if improper motives were a factor, even if some of the violations are legitimate.”
County attorney Tim Buckley countered that the Civil Service Board acted properly when it upheld Chance’s firing and all the superior court judge was seeking in sending the case back was more “clarity” from the board explaining its ruling. "I find [Chofnas’ argument] offensive that y’all just don’t know what you’re doing, and when you do you turn chicken," said Buckley.
The board has 30 days to issue its decision. It can reaffirm Chance’s firing or reinstate him and give him more than $100,000 in back pay. He has a separate whistle-blower case in superior court to collect damages and attorney’s fees for his firing. The county has named a new planning director, Tom Brown, but the commission changed the job title and it's not protected under civil service.
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