After nearly two hours of discussion, the executive board for HART voted 7-3 Monday morning to continue to keep CEO David Armijo on paid suspension for two more weeks. That theoretically should give the board time to fully review the charges against him — and allow Armijo to meet individually with board members about the allegations before they convene again on April 18.
Although no specific wrongdoings have been published against the man who has led HART since 2007, the thrust of the allegations brought forth by current and former HART employees accuse him of retaliating against employees and misusing public funds, acts for which Armijo said there is no evidence.
According to Dawn Siler-Nixon, the attorney hired by HART to look into the allegations, three HART employees filed written complaints against Armijo with the HART board in February, but a total of 12 people have expressed concerns that go back to 2008.
But Armijo says what's happening to him is un-American.
"I think you just saw over the past two hours that we're still dealing with an imprecise process," he told reporters immediately after the meeting, saying he would like the opportunity to review the allegations against him, which he says he has yet been unable to do. When asked by CL if he thought the process had been unfair, he replied, "Absolutely. If this kind of process continues, it's going to be difficult for any CEO in this community to lead an organization."
The meeting began with Siler-Nixon giving an overview of the main issues that she uncovered in her investigation. She said that overall a "tense and fearful climate" is the situation with the workforce under Armijo's direction. And she said that Armijo was given the opportunity to respond to each allegation presented to him.
All three members of the Hillsborough County Commission who serve on HART's board said they believed the allegations were serious and needed to be taken as such. Kevin Beckner, who took complaints about former County Administrator Pat Bean last year to the FDLE, asked HART attorney Mary Ann Stiles if she believed the actions by Armijo might warrant another law enforcement agency being contacted. She said no.
Commissioner Sandy Murman complained about the process being rushed, saying a level of fairness was owed to Armijo, and also to HART employees and the taxpayers of Hillsborough County.
This article appears in Mar 31 – Apr 6, 2011.