Door County Board Supervisors went into closed session Tuesday to consider information related to a claim submitted by former County Administrator Michael Serpe. The action follows state statutes & is an indication that the matter could be adjudicated in a court of law. When the board returned to open session, it voted to deny the claim submitted by Serpe’s attorney. The vote also triggered the beginning of a 60 day period that could lead to the next step in the process. Serpe’s six year tenure as Door County Administrator ended March 30th with the County Board’s decision to terminate him. Based on statements from Serpe’s two main accusers, Personnel/Human Resources Director Kelli Hendee & Finance Director Shirley Scalish, the county’s attorney noted three areas of concern…
-The possible denial of a promotion due to age.
-Making inappropriate comments based on age.
-Making inappropriate hand gestures that could be construed as sexual in nature.
Serpe denied the bulk of the allegations & said his intentions had been misinterpreted by others. Later, in an open letter, Serpe said his firing was based on allegations that were never brought to his attention. He called the process used by the County Board unfair & indicated that the matter could end up in the court system.
