The city of Graham has fired its finance officer, Melanie King, for unsatisfactory job performance after she was given multiple verbal warnings, based on records that Graham city officials have furnished in response to a public records request by The Alamance News (see related story, this edition).
Graham city officials determined that King had been negligent or incompetent in the performance of her job duties; failed to complete work within established timeframes; and/or failed to meet work standards, based on the termination letter she received May 20, which took effect immediately.
King was given an opportunity to respond to the purported deficiencies in her job performance during a “pre-disciplinary conference” on May 16 of this year, based on the termination notice that the city sent to its former finance officer.
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“At the pre-disciplinary conference, you provided information and documentation to explain the reasons for which certain job functions under your area of responsibility were not completed,” King’s termination letter states. “…Neither the assertions you made nor the information you provided are sufficient to refute the findings that you failed to effectively and timely perform the duties and tasks to which you were assigned.”
The city’s personnel policy provides that “an employee whose job performance is unsatisfactory over a period of time should normally receive at least two warnings,” according to the notice of termination that King was given on May 20.
However, city officials contended that the nature of the work that King had failed to perform “is not something for which any employee should reasonably expect multiple written warnings,” King’s termination notice states.
The Alamance News recently filed two public records with the city of Graham, seeking to examine and inspect payroll records of the city regarding all current and former employees who had been dismissed, suspended, and/or demoted during the previous 2023-24 fiscal year; and the same information for any employees who had been dismissed or otherwise disciplined during the current fiscal year.
For any disciplinary actions resulting in dismissal, the newspaper requested to examine and inspect a copy of the written notice of the final decision of the municipality, setting forth any specific acts or omissions that were the basis of the dismissal; and for demotions or suspensions, the date and amount of any decrease in salary and/or salary adjustment.
In addition to the now-former finance officer, five other city employees also been fired or disciplined during the 2023-24 fiscal year that ended on June 30.
King’s notice of termination was initially withheld from documents that Graham city officials furnished in response to the newspaper’s initial public records request, which city officials later attributed to the fact that she hadn’t completed the appeal process – i.e., a “name-clearing hearing” provided to all public employees who are fired under the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The city of Graham’s personnel policy provides an appeal process to any employees who are subject to disciplinary action but requires the appeal to be filed within 15 days of receipt of a notice of disciplinary action, based on a copy of that section of the personnel policy that city officials furnished Friday along with King’s notice of termination.
Though the city did not indicate it in its response to the public records request, The Alamance News has learned that a name-clearing hearing was, in fact, scheduled, but King ended up not attending.
North Carolina law classifies certain types of information in the personnel files of local government employees as public records, including: dates of employment; any increase or decrease in compensation; dates and types of any promotion, demotion, transfer, termination, suspension, and/or dismissal, as well as a copy of the final notice of dismissal outlining the reasons for dismissal.
King, 41, was hired as Graham’s finance officer on March 13, 2023, and her final salary was $109,258.71, city officials told the newspaper this week.
Melanie King had previously served as the town clerk for the town of Haw River several years ago, when she was known by her maiden name (Eveker), according to documents on file with that town.
