County public works chief quits

Josh Wheeler is stepping down as Benton County's public works director following claims of discrimination by one of his employees.

"Josh and the county have mutually agreed to part ways," County Counsel Vance Croney said Monday.

He said the agreement was reached earlier in the day and would take effect Dec. 22 but declined to provide any additional information about the terms of Wheeler's exit.

"All I am allowed to say is that Josh and the county have mutually agreed to part ways," Croney said.

Wheeler has been out on paid administrative leave since mid-November while the county investigated allegations by Bob Tessmer, who worked under Wheeler as the county's facilities manager.

The investigation was triggered by a tort claim notice filed by Tessmer's lawyer, Shemia Fagan of HKM Employment Attorneys in Portland. Under Oregon law, the formal notice must be filed before a lawsuit can be brought against a government entity.

"Josh Wheeler has harassed and demeaned Mr. Tessmer because of his age, disabilities, and status as a veteran since Mr. Tessmer started with Benton County," Fagan wrote in her filing. In addition, she wrote, Wheeler was dismissive of Tessmer's desire to hire more veterans, forced him to hire younger workers and escalated his discriminatory treatment after Tessmer complained to county human resources officials.

Fagan wrote in the tort claim notice that her client would be willing to settle out of court for a severance payment of $55,000 and a guarantee that neither Wheeler nor any other county employee would make "negative comments" about him.

On Monday, Croney confirmed that Tessmer was no longer employed by the county as of sometime last week but declined to provide any specifics about his departure or whether he had received any financial compensation from the county.

As with Wheeler's leaving, Croney said he was barred by terms of the agreement from discussing any details of the arrangements between Tessmer and the county.

Tessmer could not be reached for comment on Monday and did not respond to previous voicemail messages.

Tessmer, 54, had been out on leave for unspecified medical reasons since shortly before the tort claim notice was filed in early November. Benton County officials declined to provide any details about the nature of Tessmer's disability or his military service, citing privacy restrictions.

Wheeler did not respond Monday to a phone call seeking comment.

Wheeler went to work as director of the Benton County Public Works Department in August 2014. He had previously been employed as public works director and city engineer for North Chicago, Illinois.

Wheeler was being paid $124,527 a year by Benton County.