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Dear Editor,
Left out in news stories regarding the lawsuit known as Byer v. Hamilton County is the following information:
In 2017, Susan Byer accepted a late tax payment in cash from a county employee and gave it to another employee to post as on time.
Soon thereafter an office meeting was held to – among other things – review office policies and internal controls. It was during this meeting when Byer became belligerent towards her supervisor, Kim Good, and continued to be so even after repeated warnings. A sheriff’s deputy who overheard Byer’s outburst even inquired as to the well-being of Good and Treasurer Jennifer Templeton. This was also when Byer accused Good of accepting late payments from her own mother without penalty.
Despite Byer’s insubordination, Templeton did not terminate Byer’s employment. Instead, Byer was fired eight months later after committing a series of violations.
Byer’s claim that her firing was in retaliation for accusations hurled eight months prior is erroneous. In order to meet retaliation requirements, Templeton would’ve had to fire Byer very soon after the accusations, like within two weeks soon. That didn’t happen.
However, if Templeton had fired Byer after that eventful meeting, it could’ve been justified due to Byer’s gross misconduct. Case closed.
Bryan Good
Cicero
This is Good (pun intended). People aren’t immediately fired for accepting a late tax payment in cash from a county employee and giving it to another employee to post as on time? Why wasn’t that same deputy or state police told about this wrongdoing for investigation? Wow.
Eric, the investigators were told about that incident and shown a record of the transaction. I too asked why Byer wasn’t fired immediately and think it is a fair question. Also, according to Byer’s own words (November 15th, IndyStar) she routinely accepted late payments without penalty. Of course, she also stated she had permission, which is crock of smelly stuff. I wish you and others would question why Byer wasn’t fired immediately, especially since her response to getting caught was to yell and scream at Mrs. Good.