County declines to settle former official's lawsuit
By Associated Press
Published September 10, 2003
CLEARWATER - Pinellas County commissioners rejected an offer Tuesday to settle the case of former assistant county administrator Rick Dodge, who was fired last year.
Dodge sued Pinellas County this year, claiming he was fired in retribution for exposing fraud in the welfare program.
The lawsuit says Dodge's former boss, County Administrator Stephen Spratt, created an excuse to fire him in August 2002 because he was upset that Dodge refused to stop talking about alleged fraud in a welfare-to-work program run by Lockheed Martin.
In 1999, the county awarded Lockheed Martin a $15-million contract to oversee job placement and training programs. According to the lawsuit, Dodge said he began investigating complaints about Lockheed's administration of the contract and concluded the company engaged in double billing and overhead costs. The county ended its contract with Lockheed. Spratt has said that Dodge was terminated because of his job performance. Dodge had asked for back pay and reinstatement.
