“This past November, I was elected on a platform to improve the operations of the village of New Lebanon. The citizens have been frustrated for years with the lack of progress and malaise under the former village council and current administrative staff, as our infrastructure collapsed around us,” Nickerson said in a statement released by attorney Mike McNamee Tuesday afternoon. “... I made a promise to the citizens of New Lebanon that I would take all actions needed to address their concerns, and I intend to keep that promise despite my uninformed critics.”
An investigation into activities in the village’s administrative, financial and legal departments is being led by special counsel McNamee Law Group. The staff on administrative leave will stay in that status pending the outcome of the investigation or until further notice.
“The resolutions passed at our recent village council meeting have been characterized as a vendetta. I assure you that is not the case,” Nickerson said. “The instructed actions taken were done in surprise fashion for the primary purpose of preserving evidence. The very next morning at 8 a.m., members of the Ohio Auditor of State’s Special Investigation Unit were boxing records and interviewing employees where they proceeded with their own investigation.”
Madden, the ousted village manager, is the one who characterized Nickerson’s actions as a “vendetta,” saying it stemmed from his termination from his position in the village’s service department years earlier. Madden did not immediately respond to requests for further comment Tuesday.
In a Feb. 2 complaint to the Auditor’s Investigations Unit, Nickerson had expressed concerns about the village budget and improper use of funds, and requested an emergency audit.
Documents show Nickerson claimed multiple village funds are “in the red” by up to $200,000.
“We basically have no money in our budget anymore,” Nickerson contended.
The resolutions were introduced by Nickerson as last-minute additions to the Feb. 20 meeting agenda, a move he asserts was vital to preserve any documents necessary for a forthcoming investigation.
Last week’s ouster was approved in 4-3 votes, with Councilmembers Melissa Sexton, Timothy Back, Vice Mayor Nicole Adkins and Nickerson voting yes, and Councilmembers Tammy Loch, Gale Joy, and Lyndon Perkins voting no.
Back, Sexton and Nickerson all were newly elected in November.
Nickerson again asserted Tuesday that residents should expect operations to continue uninterrupted throughout the ongoing internal investigation, as well as the one being handled by the auditor’s office.
“At this time, we have interim department heads ensuring there is no interruption in the services to our citizens,” he said. “I have instructed all village employees, consultants, and attorneys to make no further comment on the two parallel investigations until each investigation has reached its conclusion and a public hearing has been held.”
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