Published on: Thursday, August 09, 2012

By Daryl Buchanan

ROCKVILLE-After allegations of mistreatment and racism towards employees within City Hall the City hired a law firm to investigate the matters which was to conclude this month, but now the City may need more time to get to the bottom of the complaints.

Rockville originally entered into a contract with Saul Ewing LLP on May 4 for $90,000 dollars to investigate the claims of improper conduct and unfair treatment by city employees. 

The contract and investigation was originally to wrap up August 15, but at Monday night’s City Council meeting the Mayor and Council agreed to extend the contract to October 31 for an amount not to exceed $100,000 – an extra $10,000.

Mayor Phyllis Marcuccio says the original $90,000 cost was a preliminary estimate in May and that an extension and increase was likely.

“When we signed the original contract in May it wasn’t a full estimate. At that time we didn’t know how much work it would take to complete the investigation. We didn’t know who, what, and when. But now that the hotline has been up the size of the job became clear and we realized it would take more time than estimated,” said Marcuccio.

“Now that there’s evidence that shows it will take more work than planned we had to extend the contract into October. Obviously the August 15 date that was set for the outcome of the investigation won’t be possible now.”

According to Acting City Manager Jenny Kimball Saul Ewing is continuing their investigation with no further information available at this time. Upon completion expected later this fall Saul Ewing will provide the Mayor and Council with a general summary of their recommendations.

“Saul Ewing will provide a general written summary of recommendations to the Mayor and Council. However, all personnel information will remain confidential,” said Kimball. “Whether there will be a public release of information or statement by the Mayor and Council has not been determined.”