Former Port Wentworth city manager sues city for breach of contract
Former Port Wentworth City Manager Edwin Booth is suing the city for at least $150,000 in damages for what he believes was a breach of his contract.
Booth and five other City of Port Wentworth employees resigned in February 2022 due to "general frustrations," according to previous reporting. He had been city manager for a year and two months before his last day of March 9, 2022.
Nearly two years to the date of his original resignation he's filed a lawsuit alleging that he was not allowed to satisfy the terms of the contract he had with the city, which promised a base salary of $110,000 annually beginning Jan. 1, 2021.
The agreement states that in the event of a termination the city would provide Booth with a minimum severance payment of one-year salary. For a resignation it only states that he should provide a minimum of 30 days' notice.
According to the lawsuit, Booth became concerned that the contract the city entered into with ClearWater Solutions for services for the department of public works was not fulfilling its terms of the contract, to the "detriment of the physical integrity of the City's public works and utilities as well as the city's financial wellbeing."
Background: 6 Port Wentworth staffers walkout and quit jobs, citing hostile work environment in letters
It then goes on to state that Booth tried to address the concerns he had about the contract to the mayor, council and staff after an evaluation of the contract and services. Allegedly, he was rebuffed by Mayor Gary Norton who "aggressively" opposed his efforts to address the concerns. It also alleges that he was threatened termination several times by Mayor Pro Tem Thomas Barbee after the 2021 election, often in the presence of Norton and others.
Booth said he was repeatedly told multiple times by Norton that he was not allowed to perform certain functions of his job, which is managing the city's affairs. All of the city managers duties are defined in the city charter, but the lawsuit highlights some in particular, such as:
Direct and supervise the administration of all departments, offices and agencies of the city, except as otherwise provided by the charter or by law
Submit to the city council and make available a complete report on the finances and administrative activities of the city as of the end of each fiscal year
The suit argues that alongside this, Booth was actually terminated due to the hiring of an Interim City Manager while Booth was still technically employed by the city. He tendered his resignation at a meeting in February 2022, before being informed that because he didn't give council 30 days' notice, as was defined in the agreement, it was not accepted. Interim city manager Matt Libby was then hired. Later, in a council meeting attended by only council members Mark Stephens, Rufus Bright, Jo Smith, and Barbee, City Manager Steve Davis was then hired as city manager.
The suit also notes that after Booth was no longer employed by the city, the new city manager notified CWS in writing that its contract with the city had been suspended due to breach of contract, based on the same issues Booth attempted to address.
The City of Port Wentworth government released a statement Friday saying: "Although the City does not normally comment on pending litigation, in this instance it is necessary to correct the public record due to the lawsuit’s staggering number of inaccuracies and omissions."
The statement said that Booth kept his resignation "a secret from city officials" and knew about a mass resignation on February 11, 2022, and alleges he "did nothing to ensure operations at the City would continue." The statement also notes an alleged "especially egregious action," saying Booth stopped funding pension payments for city employees.
Destini Ambus is the general assignment reporter for Chatham County municipalities for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach her at dambus@gannett.com
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Port Wentworth news: Ex-city manager Edwin Booth sues city
