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NEWTON FALLS -- Pamela Priddy was approved to take the helm as the interim village manager, following the resignation of the former manager David Lynch.
Village council voted 3-1 at a special meeting Aug. 9 to approve Priddy. Lynch's resignation was approved July 29. Councilman Adam Zimmerman voted against the approval.
Even though she is the interim manager, Priddy said the job is different from what she'd originally thought.
"Now that I've been here for a couple of days … it's been an adventure," she said.
Priddy noted she was expecting more modernized methods of communication, saying there are a lot of "paper interactions," but she said she believes things are moving in the right direction.
Priddy said she has some plans to make her time in the position beneficial, including quelling some animosity in the village.
"We wanted to settle it down and move the ship forward," Priddy said.
One of Priddy's top goals is to enable the employees to work efficiently, as well as modernize efforts to ease communication among employees. She also wants to do her part for village economic development. Prior to his leaving, Lynch announced plans to bring commercial development in the form of a Dunkin Donuts and 88 acres of commercial property to be annexed into the village.
Additionally, Priddy said she wants to limit spending and be more conservative with village money. Her background in finance is one of the reasons Mayor Ken Kline said Priddy set apart from others interested in the position.
"She's a strong person in the community and has a strong finance background so we thought she was a good fit," Kline said.
BACKGROUND
Priddy's background, however, also includes a November 2018 federal indictment on accusations of taking more than $377,000 from health care plans. The case was dismissed June 24, 2019.
In the case brought forward after a lengthy investigation by the U.S. Attorney's Office, the government alleged Priddy took money from health care plans she administered at her company, Health Plan Administrators LLC, and used the money to pay for personal and business expenses.
The indictment claimed Priddy misappropriated large sums on three occasions and, instead of depositing the money into the accounts of the various companies HPA dealt with, the money was deposited into HPA's accounts "and the funds were used for HPA business expenses and Priddy's personal benefit."
For seven months after the indictment, Priddy and her lawyers went to bat against the government, and the case eventually was dismissed "without prejudice" -- meaning the U.S. Attorney's Office could pursue charges further.
Kline said the case was brought up to Priddy during their conversations.
"We spoke to her on it, and her answers were satisfactory. She wasn't convicted. If she was guilty, she would have been convicted, and that didn't take place," he said.
Speaking on the case, Priddy said the matter will have no bearing on her position with the village.
"The case was dismissed," Priddy said. "I was shown as innocent anyway. I did not do any of that."
A CRITIC
Although dismissed, the case doesn't sit well with Zimmerman, who said her hiring came as a surprise.
"I have strong reservations. One of the reasons they wanted Lynch out was because of perceived mishandling of money. Her background, including the indictment, is a huge red flag," Zimmerman said. "The city had to look at that."
Another point of concern Zimmerman has is the timeliness and actual hiring of Priddy. In a group on social media, "44444 Common Sense Unzipped," he posted: "The regular meeting where council accepted Mr. Lynch's resignation ended approximately 11:15 p.m. on Monday the 2nd. We (council) received an email from Mayor Kline at 9:14 a.m. on Tuesday the 3rd announcing that he wanted to appoint Ms. Priddy to the interim position …
"Where was the time for council and the citizens to reach out to him with suggestions for the position?!" he posted. "This is a question that should be answered in the name of transparency."
Council sought to fire Lynch in a meeting July 19, but procedural errors saw council accept his formal resignation nine days later. It wasn't until Aug. 9 that Priddy was approved by council.
Priddy said she expressed interest in the vacant position after July 19. But Zimmerman said when Kline sent the email suggesting Priddy, he was surprised and believes the two spoke prior to the decision on Lynch.
"Everyone here, the mayor, Councilman (Brian) Kropp, Councilwoman (Tesa) Spletzer and Councilman (John) Baryak are all saying they want transparency going forward. How transparent is this that there was a name brought up ahead of time? It seems that one person or a group of people are making decisions without talking to myself and Councilwoman (Sandra) Breymaier," Zimmerman said.
FILLED A NEED
Kline's reasoning behind hiring someone quickly comes from the need to fill the position.
"We wanted to fill the position quickly so the person in the interim can look for a person permanently. The interim doesn't need to be completely as detailed as someone doing the job for some time. It's to keep the position afloat in the meantime," he said.
After Priddy's approval, Kline told the Tribune Chronicle that council members brought various names of local residents to him for possible selection of an interim village manager. He said some residents also approached him to serve as interim. The other candidates, Kline said, were supervisors to different department heads and each of them declined for different reasons -- many being the demands of the job.
Going into the position, Priddy said she knew it only will be for a short period and doesn't expect to be in the position full time. Kline said he anticipates Priddy in the position for eight weeks.
"I came in just to try to destabilize some of the tensions that have been rising. I came into it knowing I was truly the interim," Priddy said.
She added she is in the position "just to act as a bridge for the old and the new regime."