Michael C. Ladd, former executive director of the New Albany Urban Enterprise Association, has written a letter to the News and Tribune documenting the "payment due" shambles following in the wake of his March, 2012 dismissal. The gist of all this is simple to the point of eloquence:
Why have an Ethics Commission if not to consider such matters?
Of course, eloquence seldom plays well in a town that doesn't read. For those who do, there is ample background for this story right here at NAC. The words are mine, except Nick Cortolillo's.
Rare sighting of the city's Ethics Commission returns focus to Ladd's UEA 2012 "norwooding" ... "Let me phrase it this way: If you lost your job owing to allegations of malfeasance, and there was an opportunity to set the record straight, wouldn't you prefer future employers to view your past record as it was, not as unsubstantiated insinuations have continued to depict it?"
Ethics Commission receives shovel-ready complaint ... "Make no mistake: I'll go to my grave denouncing the third England administration's grubby treatment of Mike Ladd, borne of its desire to grab whatever money it could, while there still remained non-transparent time to do so and a handy nearby ATM. It sickened me then, it sickens me now, and I'm prepared to debate any one, any time, who argues otherwise."
Nick Cortolillo on "politically motivated interference" with the UEA ... "The city of New Albany wanted unlimited access to the enterprise association’s revenue and Ladd was in the way."
UEA decapitation: Different tactics, same desired outcome, and still just as wrong as before ... "How can history’s lessons be understood and heeded, and its mistakes avoided, by collective amnesia? Mr. Duggins has assured me that in this brave new UEA world, the coercive errors of the England years will never be repeated, and I believe he’s being sincere. And yet, without publicly discussing what the errors actually were, do we even know what we’re referring to?"
ON THE AVENUES: A decapitation, coming tomorrow ... "I do not agree that pre-determined outcomes are truly representative of what consultative, democratic government should be."
Ladd's letter follows. I've chosen to publish the original version, not the edited version which appears in the newspaper.
Former UEZ director: checks were long overdue
Editor’s note: Michael Ladd, former executive director of the Urban Enterprise Zone Association, is referring to a story published by the News and Tribune that ran in the Aug. 31, 2013, edition titled “New Albany: A highly ethical city?” He is referring to David Duggins, director of economic development and redevelopment for New Albany.
To the Editor:
"Duggins said the UEZ attempted to mail two checks to cover the $1,875 for two weeks of pay they believe he was due, but they were returned and not cashed.
We do feel like he was entitled to the remaining two weeks of his contract."
It took 17 months for the UEZ to send the above referenced two checks and then only after the Indiana Department of Labor (IDOL) suggested I sue the NAUEA after three attempts to contact Duggins and the UEZ failed to elicit any response at all. Also, there have been at least five attempts by local attornies to contact Duggins specifically and the UEA through its board president and other officers about the same matter over the same seventeen month period. It was only after the IDOL recommended I sue that the UEA (through the civil city attorney) responded. The email is dated July 17 and reads . . .
Dear Michael Ladd:
The Indiana Department of Labor has been investigating the above-referenced wage claim. We made several attempts to contact New Albany Urban Enterprise Association, but received no response. As there was no information provided by New Albany Urban Enterprise Association, we have made the following determination:
Indiana wage & hour law generally requires an employer to pay an employee who has separated from employment all wages due at the next regularly-scheduled payday. (See Indiana Code 22-2-5-1(b)).
Since New Albany Urban Enterprise Association failed to respond to this claim, the Department of Labor is unable to determine whether the wages claimed are actually owed. If this determination is believed to be in error, Michael Ladd may wish to consult with private legal counsel. As a courtesy, we have provided Michael Ladd with a list of attorneys in Indiana who have acknowledged that they will assist with Wage Claims.
If you have any questions or concerns about this determination, please contact us via e-mail at wageclaims@dol.in.gov or by phone at (317) 232-2655 option 1.
Sincerely,
Wage and Hour Division
Following this recommendation, on August 1, 2013, I found in my mailbox a letter signed "Shane L. Gibson Corporate Counsel". In it were a cover letter and two checks from the UEA. The checks were dated March 15, 2012. I had written them myself. Seventeen months old, eleven months out of date. Checks have a shelf-life of six months. Therefore, the checks were uncashable. Of course I returned them. They were no good. Five days later I received newly issued, cashable, checks.
"We do feel like he was entitled to the remaining two weeks of his contract." But only after seventeen months of stalling, numerous efforts by attorneys to contact them, and after attempting to pawn off two checks that were no good. Duggins is good at parsing his words and uttering sentences that leave a reader or listener with a mis-impression of actual circumstances. It is only after looking behind the curtain that you learn the truth.
There is only one point on which I can say I agree with Duggins: I too would be "happy to discuss" these issues with the Ethics Commission. If they ever get created and actually meet.
Michael C. Ladd
