WINDERMERE, Fla. — Thursday night, the Windermere town council could decide whether to fire the town manager. Cecilia Bernier supervised former Police Chief Dan Saylor, who was arrested in January in a child rape crime cover-up.
Bernier agreed to resign, but now she is suing over her severance package, and the mayor told WFTV he wants her gone.
There will likely be a packed house at town hall Thursday. Bernier is demanding $67,000, a little less than her current annual salary of $72,000, but the council is only offering $35,000. There's no word on whether they'll sweeten the deal.
It looks like business as usual in downtown Windermere, but the mayor couldn't disagree more.
"I think it's time for us to move on," Mayor Gary Bruhn said.
Bruhn says it's time for Bernier to go. Although she submitted a letter of resignation on March 25, she never stopped coming to work.
"Ultimately, the council has to realize they need to terminate her," former town council candidate Andrew McCarthy said.
McCarthy has an ax to grind with pending litigation against the town, but he believes council members should make a change despite Bernier's threats to file a defamation suit. A lawyer himself, McCarthy doesn't think she can win.
"You have to look at the merit of those. I think there is none. You also have to look at the probability that she's going to file suit. And I think that's very, very low," McCarthy said.
Bernier was in the office Thursday but refused to be interviewed, and she's stuck to that policy for weeks now.
It has now been more than four months since then Police Chief Dan Saylor was arrested. Nearly two months since the fallout made Bernier decide to quit, Mayor Bruhn says it's time to press the issue.
"With the threat of lawsuits against the town, the mayor, an elected official, I think the council will realize this is not a good working relationship. We need to move forward and the best way to do that is sever that relationship," he said.
Previous Stories: May 13, 2011: Windermere's Town Manager Files Lawsuit April 14, 2011: Windermere Town Manager To Face Deposition April 13, 2011: Winderemere Votes On Ex-Town Manager's Severance April 12, 2011: Windermere Council To Discuss Ex-Town Manager's Severance April 8, 2011: Windermere Town Manager's Transition Agreement Released April 1, 2011: Documents: Ex-Town Manager Helped Daniel Saylor March 29, 2011: Windermere Votes To Accept Town Manager Resignation March 25, 2011: Windermere Town Manager Announces Resignation
WFTV
