Georgetown Mayor Jack Scoville — overriding a grievance committee decision — said “no” to a former worker’s  request to be reinstated to her job.

Millison Jordan, who was forced to resign from the City of Georgetown’s finance department for “insubordination to a superior” in November, told the city’s six-member grievance committee she was unfairly terminated from her job as an administrative assistant.

The panel, last week, decided to side with Jordan and recommended the decision to terminate her employment be “set aside.”

However, because the city has a strong mayor form of government, Mayor Jack Scoville was charged with making the ultimate decision.

He decided to uphold the termination be upheld. He declined to comment for this article.

Jordan said Scoville offered no explanation for his decision in his letter, which she received Tuesday.

“I went into this open minded. I knew there was a chance they would hire me back and a chance they would not,” Jordan said Tuesday. “I really just wanted my side to be heard, and it was. The committee saw my point.”

Jordan also said she holds no hard feelings towards Scoville for disregarding the panel’s recommendation.

“I do not fault him for the decision he made, even though I may never know why,” she said.

Jordan, who was an administrative assistant in the city’s finance department, said she was told Nov. 20 she would have to perform cashier duties in the collections area because of a hiring freeze enacted by city council.

She said she decided to move some items from her office  to the cashier area so she would not have to leave her cash drawer unattended during the day.

That, she said, led to an altercation between herself and Walt Ackerman, the assistant director of finance.

Ackerman, according to testimony from the grievance hearing, told Jordan she was “being irrational” by moving things from her office since working in the cashier’s position was probably temporary.

Jordan admits she started “being loud” as she told Ackerman she was going to move her things because that would make it easier for her to do the cashier’s job.

“Mr. Ackerman asked me not to yell at him anymore and I stated to him that I was not yelling, but if he felt that I was I was sorry,” Jordan said.

She testified Ackerman put his finger in her face and “with a forceful tone said ‘you will not run this department.’”

Jordan said Ackerman wanted her to come into his office but she refused.

“I said that I would not discuss this without (Miller) or someone else being in the office with me because I was not comfortable nor did I want to be backed up against the wall,” she said.

Jordan told the panel  she had no idea Ackerman was considered one of her superiors. She said she thought they were equals in the workplace.

By Scott Harper

sharper@gtowntimes.com