Jefferson County administrator Jim Moore has been fired, weeks after the county paid out $766,000 related to age- and sex-discrimination cases involving him.
The three commissioners voted unanimously Wednesday night to oust Moore, who assumed his position four years ago and was on track to earn about $150,000 this year.
Commissioners declined to comment. Jeffco spokeswoman Kathryn Heider said the reasons for the firing would not be revealed because it is a personnel matter. The commissioners met in secret to discuss their decision, then voted in public on the firing, as required by Colorado law.
Moore’s firing also came only hours after a federal jury delivered a verdict in favor of Mike Zinna, who sued former commissioner Jim Congrove for allegedly violating his First Amendment rights. Moore testified on behalf of Zinna.
Moore could not be reached for comment.
Ralph Schell, director of the county’s open-space department, has been named interim administrator. He said Thursday that he “was looking forward to the new challenge.”
One of those challenges will be overseeing an entirely new compensation system. A recent government-compensation study showed 324 workers and 558 sworn sheriff’s employees are underpaid, while 66 workers are overpaid, compared with employees in similar counties and cities across the West.
The federal lawsuits brought by former county employees Judy Goebel, 61, and Jerelyn Bower, 57, claimed that Moore fired them in 2007 based on their age and gender, and that he created a hostile work environment.
Moore and county officials denied the charges, saying the women were fired because of budget issues.
Even so, the county settled with Goebel, the former human-services director, in June for $275,000 and with Bower, head of support services, for $325,000 last month.
Another $166,918 was shelled out to pay for legal fees.
Neither Goebel nor Bower could be reached for comment. Their attorney Robert Truhlar declined to comment on Moore’s firing.
Moore was hired by the county in 2004 as the director of human resources. He became county administrator the following year. Prior to joining Jefferson County, he was the human resources director for the city of Davenport, Iowa.
Ugly remarks alleged
Heider could not provide information Thursday about whether Moore is receiving a severance package. She also did not know whether Jefferson County would hire a permanent replacement.
Goebel and Bower alleged that among other things, Moore did nothing when told about instances in which male employees made derogatory remarks about women and when one employee used racial epithets.
Moore, they contended, also made unwelcome comments about sexual abuse and discussed a sex video he said he had made.
At one point, upon learning the age of a female employee who was 55, Moore allegedly said: “Well, she might have a year or two left on her.”
Federal court records show that the county and Moore denied these allegations and said that both women were fired to save more than $200,000 in salaries.
In November, Moore wrote in a letter to employees that Goebel was “terminated for poor judgment and lacking impartiality” and Bower’s position was eliminated to save money.
He also noted that the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission had found in sufficient evidence to sustain both employees’ claims against the county.
Karen Crummy: 303-954-1594 or kcrummy@denverpost.com
