Lorimor city clerk fired again

The Iowa State Auditor’s office and Lorimor Mayor Tim O’Neil have confirmed the termination of Lorimor City Clerk Doris Loy effective last week, but this isn’t the first time Loy has been fired as city clerk.

Lorimor made state news in 2015 after the mayor at the time, George Lange, closed city hall for two weeks, going so far as to padlock the front door to prevent Loy from entering the building after placing her on paid leave.

In August 2015, Lorimor City Council voted unanimously to reinstate her as city clerk. This led to Lange’s resignation. “I will not work with her,” Lange said.

Though she was reinstated after being placed on leave, at a special council meeting Jan. 27, 2016, she was removed from the appointed position. The council’s reasonings for her termination were as follows.

Errors with regard to utility billing, resulting in residents losing power.

Failure to pay bills when due.

Failure to adequately take minutes of council meetings.

Acceptance of gifts from vendor.

Disposal of city property without council approval.

Following her termination, Loy appealed the decision in March 2016, but in May, they upheld the decision of unemployment. A rehearing was requested and denied.

Loy then filed a petition for judicial review of the city of Lorimor on the grounds that she was unduly and unjustly fired from her position based on the city’s failure to present sufficient evidence to show that she was “discharged for disqualifying job-related misconduct.”

Loy’s job was reinstated, and she has continued to serve as city clerk until her termination last week. Lorimor City Hall declined to comment.

In a written statement after her first termination, former councilman Denis Orwan stated, “One of the issues that bothered me was that an appointed position and city worker being hired that were not properly vetted (no background check and no reference check done by the city attorney) were allowed to work in our community for as long as they were allowed to. There is no excuse for a city council to allow this type of action to ever occur. Anyone allowing this type of action should be held accountable for those actions.” Orwan was elected to city council after her hiring.

Prior to her work in Lorimor, Loy worked as city clerk in Grand River for nine years before her termination there. An investigation by the state auditor’s office showed she was responsible for more than $27,000 in mishandled money.

“Those are identified as improper payments to vendors, improper payments to herself, various late fees and penalties that would be tied to her not doing her job correctly, and then improper payroll also paid to herself,” former State Auditor Mary Mosiman said to Radio Iowa in 2013. “Oversight and internal controls are the two key words that we like to use. In small cities, we realize staff is small, but if the council members and mayor are aware of the ongoing operations during their regular meetings…that’s where internal controls and oversight can have a positive effect.”

The reason for Loy’s recent termination is unclear, but it was not due to a state audit as it was in 2013.