Alpena County accused of mishandling funds
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ALPENA -- A former Alpena County employee accuses the county of unlawful use of grant money and forcing her to resign to cover up the alleged misdeeds.
Former Home Improvement Director Thea Lucas filed a lawsuit claiming the county violated the Whistleblowers Protection Act when a county official forced her to resign while she tried to get the alleged mismanagement of money addressed.
Lucas claims the county misused $32,000 from grants for the Alpena County Home Improvement Program by adding ineligible expenses to the program budget.
The Home Improvement Program helps low-income residents acquire funds to make improvements on their houses
The suit, filed in November, names the county, Commissioner Marty Thomson, and former Executive Manager Tammy Sumerix-Bates as defendants. Lucas seeks $25,000 in damages, court documents show.
Thomson said Wednesday he had no comment on the ongoing litigation, which is being handled by attorneys from the county's insurance provider. Contact information for Sumerix-Bates was not immediately available. Board of Commissioners Chairman Bob Adrian said he had no comment.
Lucus referred all questions about the case to her attorney, Victor Mastromarco, who did not respond to a request for comment.
If the state deemed the expenditures in question violate the terms of the grants, the county could be forced to pay back the money.
Lucas claims that, when she tried to point out the potential liability to the county and tried to get placed on agendas for county board meetings to address the matter, she was met with resistance and threats to the housing program and her job by Bates and Thomson.
During an Aug. 31 phone call, Lucas said in the suit, Thomson told her she needed to sign a separation agreement instead of being fired, which she ultimately did.
Mastromarco also represented former Alpena County undersheriff Terry King when he sued the county and Sheriff Steve Kieliszewski over a Whistleblowers Protection Act violation claim in 2019 after he was forced to resign. The county ended up settling with King for $125,000.
The case is scheduled in court next on July 14.