Two weeks until Guillen resignation is final; Carmel slow on finding a replacement.

More than six months after reaching a $600,000 settlement over allegations its city administrator sexually harassed female underlings, the Carmel city council reached an agreement with Rich Guillen to tender his resignation by the end of this month. But as the city prepares to search for Guillen’s replacement, with a target hiring date of this summer, the tentativeness that’s long characterized this issue appears to be alive and well. 


Only two weeks remain until Guillen’s last day at work. As of press time on March 15, the city council still had no scheduled meeting to begin discussions about finding an interim city administrator. Mayor Sue McCloud says “a good number” of current employees have already expressed interest in the position, but there is no official application process in place and finding an interim administrator need not be urgent. “We do have a deputy city administrator. Functions of the city will go on.” 


If no interim administrator is hired, Assistant City Manager and City Clerk Heidi Burch, who reports to Guillen, will take on those responsibilities beginning April 1. 


According to one former city employee, Burch is not well equipped to manage the city. “My opinion of the quality of Heidi’s work is not high,” says Stephanie Pearce, who worked for four years as administrative coordinator under Burch before retiring in 2008, after 30 years of public service in Carmel. “The morale of city employees has been very low,” she says.


Under Guillen’s decade of leadership, five settlements totaling in excess of $1 million were made with senior city employees. The most recent and largest settlement came in July 2010 after former human resources manager Jane Miller accused Guillen of harassment and age discrimination, and retaliating against her when she did not respond to his advances. 


Sources close to Miller believe Burch is identified in Miller’s civil lawsuit as “Female B,” a beneficiary of Guillen’s preferential treatment. According to the complaint, Female B received a series of unapproved pay raises because of her friendship with Guillen, a relationship that was “inappropriate, unprofessional and based on favoritism.”


Guillen, who earns at least $150,000 a year, will receive six months of severance pay and benefits, as stipulated by city code. Burch’s most recent published salary was between $94,860 and $115,296, as of 2007. 


Burch, who was hired as city clerk in 2005, did not return multiple phone calls requesting comment.


Council member Jason Burnett is “positive” Burch could perform city administrator duties, but the problem is with multiple transitions. Having four city administrators over several months is too many, he says. 


As to a permanent replacement, Carmel closed its request for proposals for search firms March 9, soliciting about a half dozen responses from recruiters. The budget for the search has not yet been determined. 


Adam Moniz, who narrowly lost a 2010 mayoral bid, says, “Because of her involvement in the Guillen scandal and alleged favoritism, it’s safe to say our city would not support [Burch] serving in this role.”


Moniz won’t say whether he plans to run again, but is assembling a team to focus on April 2012 when McCloud’s term ends. Council members Ken Talmage, Karen Sharp and Paula Hazdovac did not return calls for comment.