Top Prenzler aides fired by Madison County board in nearly unanimous vote
Two top aides of Madison County Board Chairman Kurt Prenzler were fired by the county board by a near-unanimous vote after a special meeting of the county board Thursday night.
The decision to fire County Administrator Doug Hulme and Information Technology Director Rob Dorman, who were put on administrative leave Wednesday by Prenzler, was reached by a 26-1 vote. The two had come under fire after recently unsealed affidavits from an investigation showed testimony alleging the two had improperly accessed county emails to help future campaigns.
The decision came after a lengthy executive session.
Prenzler requested that any action be delayed until after a third-party investigation was completed. The board overruled the chairman.
In an email sent to the board, Prenzler said any action would be a “rush to judgment” that could be expensive to taxpayers.
“My sense is that county board members called for this special meeting in good faith, feeling ‘something must be done.’ I sympathize with that, but we must do it in the right way,” the email read. ”I promise to do both: move expeditiously, but also follow a process that is fair to all concerned, and will not end in an expensive lawsuit.”
He had previously said the men’s actions were allowed by the Madison County Personnel Policy Handbook’s section entitled “Right to Monitor Use.”
This story was originally published April 16, 2020 at 10:35 PM.