Ficano considers honoring severances

Detroit —Months after promising an end to lucrative severances, Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano is considering paying 15 appointees as much as $850,000 to leave, The Detroit News has learned.

Ficano crafted the deals early last year in secret. He rescinded them last fall amid the uproar over the $200,000 severance to one-time economic development director Turkia Mullin.

Now, as some of the deals would have come due Feb. 2, discussions are under way within his administration about honoring the agreements after all.

"Lots of talks are going on, but there's no definite decision," said Brooke Blackwell, a Ficano spokeswoman.

The talks were prompted by threats of lawsuits from appointees, two sources said. But backtracking now — amid an FBI investigation into severances — would prompt a massive outcry, said Commissioner Bernard Parker, D-Detroit.

"There would be an uproar, and rightfully so," Parker said. "He came out and promised 'no more severances.' He needs to do everything he can to keep that promise, less an order from a court, to maintain any credibility."

The move comes days before the commission is set to vote Thursday on an ordinance that would require the panel to sign off on any buyouts, fringe benefits or bonuses. The commission already has voted to ban severances, Parker said.

The new ordinances wouldn't cover deals inked last year. But that doesn't make them right, said Commission Chairman Gary Woronchak.

"They can't make these deals in secret," said Woronchak, D-Dearborn. "They have made big-money secret deals for appointees that may be legally defensible, but were done without any checks and balances."

Ficano's administration promised the payments after too many appointees signed up for an early-retirement deal last spring that included up to six months' salary.

About 40 staffers took advantage of the controversial offer, but the 15 were deemed too valuable to Ficano and persuaded to stay on board — and get the payments averaging nearly $57,000 apiece whenever they leave.

Among those slated to get the buyouts were Chief Financial Officer Carla Sledge, Assistant Executive Cameron Priebe, Homeland Security Director James Buford and now-former Deputy Executive Azzam Elder.

Legally, the county is probably required to uphold the deals, said Joel Sklar, a Detroit employment lawyer.

"Politically, it may not be beneficial," Sklar said. "Legally, they'd have a good case in court."

"If someone makes a promise and that person relies on a promise and says 'I'll stick around,' you can't just say later, 'Well, I didn't mean what I said.'"

The commission learned of the severances last fall during hearings about Mullin's payment, which she returned after becoming chief executive officer of Detroit Metropolitan Airport. She was later fired. Around the same time, Ficano and his staffers said they canceled the deals and were moving to end another benefit — a longstanding 5-1 match for defined-contribution savings plans.

Ficano announced he sent a letter in October to the county retirement board requesting an end to the benefit that's lasted about 25 years for some employees. It still exists, but retirement board officials have asked attorneys to look into the request, a staffer for the board said.

Woronchak said he's come to one conclusion: Big payouts to appointees became so commonplace in the administration it's tough to believe Ficano's claim that the $200,000 to Mullin was a "mistake."

"Apparently, the administration got so used to doing it, they reached a point where they thought they could dole out money whenever they wanted," Woronchak said.

Besides the current appointees and Mullin, her predecessor, Mulugettu Birru, received $200,000 and a $100,000 consulting contract when he was forced out of his job in 2008; Mullin's secretary received a severance of more than $15,000 — since returned — for following her to the airport, and Elder was promised at least $300,000 in 2009 as well as another $75,000 in 2011.

He quit in November, is named in FBI subpoenas along with Mullin, and is suing Ficano for $25 million. His suit claims Ficano intentionally covered up the 15 severances because of the furor over the Mullin payment. Ficano denies the claim.

Also last week, the commission learned that Sledge received an advance on her severance and unused vacation time, totaling about $110,000, even though she's still on the job.

jkurth@detnews.com

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