Details released on King’s firing

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SIDNEY — A freedom of information request was filed by the Sidney Daily News to learn more information about Wednesday’s firing of former Sidney Code Enforcement Officer Kirby King.

The termination letter received indicates King was fired for using his personal cellphone during working hours and for sending inappropriate text messages to a resident during working hours, which is a “serious failure of good behavior and a violation of city policies.” His termination was effective Wednesday, March 14.

The city of Sidney conducted an investigation of all allegations contained within the formal complaint filed with the city in February, during which time King was on paid administrative leave, starting the week of Feb. 12. According to the termination letter, not all allegations were able to be substantiated.

King’s termination, said City Manager Mark Cundiff on Wednesday, came after a 2007 “last chance agreement” between King and the city was broken, which stated that King would be fired if he had any future violations. The agreement had no expiration date and was still in effect at the time of the February complaint. King’s termination letter revealed the last chance agreement was part of disciplinary action taken due to King sending inappropriate text messages to a female high school student.

The termination letter indicates King “did not dispute the facts as they were presented” during the pre-disciplinary hearing held as part of the city’s investigation process. It further states that although he was acquainted with the residents interviewed from his high school days, his only contact with them now was due to his code enforcement officer position with the city. The text messages, the termination letter said, were obviously an attempt “to establish some sort of personal relationship with the female resident without the knowledge of the male resident, her husband” … “that had nothing to do with work.”

The letter also stated that King received a five-day suspension in February 2013 for violating the city’s Internet/email and use of city property policies that put the city’s computer network at risk. The termination letter, written by Cundiff, said he did not invoke the last chance agreement at that time because King’s 2013 misconduct was of a different nature than the 2007 misconduct, which resulted in the agreement.

Cundiff declined to comment further about the King’s firing on Thursday. He said he wrote the termination letter and all the information is included within.

King has up to 10 days to appeal to the Civil Service Commission, Cudiff said. If he appeals, a hearing will be held and the commission will then make a recommendation to the city manager. Cundiff, however, is not required to follow the the commission’s recommendation. If King is unhappy with the final decision rendered by the city manager, Cundiff said, he has the right to appeal to the Common Pleas Court.

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By Sheryl Roadcap

[email protected]

Reach the writer at 937-538-4823.

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