Something Stinks in Summerfield – The Persecution of Former Town Manager Scott Whitaker

About two weeks ago, we learned that the Summerfield, North Carolina town council initiated a clandestine smear campaign to ruin the reputation of its former town manager and other former employees.

However, we need to rewind the clock back to about a year ago. That’s when the despicable treatment of town manager Scott Whitaker and his cancer-stricken wife by the town council caught my attention.

Valentine’s Day Massacre

For several years, Summerfield was locked in a battle with a real estate developer over a large and significant tract of land within the city limits. He didn’t want to play ball and threatened to use de-annexation to circumvent the process.

It is my understanding that fighting de-annexation was the main issue during the campaign and that the newly elected majority entered office with a mandate to aggressively tackle this issue. It appears that the previous council majority sought to broker some sort of deal with the developer to maintain some control over the process, while the new council majority took a hardline “no deal” approach. It seems that Whitaker may have been perceived by the new majority as disposable because he faithfully carried out the directives of his council.

His contract drafted nearly twelve years prior contained a clause triggering an automatic two-year renewal unless notified in advance by the council. Essentially, his contract would end in roughly June of 2025. If terminated without cause, he was entitled to a year’s worth of salary and health insurance coverage – vitally important for his wife.

On February 13, 2024, the typical council meeting began around 6:30 pm. Shortly after midnight the newly formed council majority informed Whitaker that his contract would not be renewed.

Through some creative interpretation, the town council reached the conclusion that his contract was set to expire in June 2024 – not 2025. In their scheme, they could simply not renew it and avoid paying him and his wife these benefits.

Employees Courageously Resign in Disgust

Whitaker spent more than 25 years in public service building an impeccable reputation as a competent manager of high integrity. He had earned the trust and loyalty of his staff over his twelve years of leadership, and they repaid him in spades.

Disgusted by the despicable actions of the council and horrified by the inhumane treatment of a family reeling from a cancer battle, staff resigned in protest on May 19th – all of them. The entire business of the town came to a screeching halt.

In a panic, the council called a special meeting on May 20th and agreed to give Whitaker just six months of severance instead of the twelve months prescribed in the contract. Undoubtedly, Whitaker was financially hamstrung on any desire to hire an attorney and fight the town.

Can you really afford to expend thousands of dollars to bring a suit against a town when you know it will be months before an outcome is reached and you are days away from losing health insurance for your wife who is battling cancer?

To add insult to injury, Whitaker was of course required to sign a non-disparagement clause which now prevents him from being able to aggressively defend himself and his reputation today.

Perhaps, the council was hopeful that this settlement would persuade staff to return to work but they steadfastly refused.

How many people will stop and forfeit their livelihood to right the wrongs perpetrated against another person? Talk about principles and courage.

Observing from afar – I figured that was the end of the story from my perspective.

Just another cautionary tale for local government executives to ponder when crafting their future contracts and a reminder that no matter how long you have faithfully served a community you can be easily disposed of after an election cycle.

Not so fast, my friends!

Clandestine “Hit and Run” Smear Campaign

The story does not end there. In the immortal words of legendary Los Angeles Dodgers announcer Vin Scully: “Pull up a chair.”

A couple of weeks ago, a bomb got dropped on Whitaker and several of the former employees who had resigned months earlier, namely finance officer Dee Hall.

It appears that the new town manager, presumably under the tacit support of the governing body, initiated an investigation into these individuals. It is unclear how this came about because up until the most recent council meeting on January 14^th, nobody had any clue there was an investigation taking place.

There are no council items authorizing Rollins to initiate the investigation nor are there any agenda items either appropriating or limiting the funds that could be committed to this investigation.

Out of the blue, a disgraced former state auditor by the name of Beth Wood parachuted in and smeared Whitaker and Hall at the council meeting. In her findings she concluded, in part, that:

• Town polices on vacation and unused PTO payouts were not followed.
• Equipment was tampered with and that Whitaker allegedly removed/destroyed nearly 120,000 gigs, or 120 terabytes, of data from his computer.

To put that in perspective, most new laptops today come with 500 gigs or half a terabyte.

At no point did Wood ever interview Whitaker or Hall to get any explanation.

We will come back to Ms. Wood in a minute – but suffice to say – this is not the first time she tried to get away with a “hit-and-run.”

It has been confirmed that members of the media were tipped off to the investigation “findings” and that the matter would be discussed at the council meeting up to a week prior.

This is the law enforcement equivalent of doing a “perp walk” specifically designed to inflict maximum damage on the reputation and careers of Whitaker and Hall – of which the former is still unemployed.

Make no mistake. Taxpayer funds were expended not in the name of ensuring accountability or promoting efficient, fiscally conservative government. These funds were spent for the sole purpose of putting a hit out on these former employees who brought state-wide attention to this disastrous council when they walked out en masse.

If the Summerfield council can tarnish this cadre of disgruntled employees as criminals who obstructed justice and enriched themselves then they could repair their images and reputations.

Who is Disgraced Former State Auditor Beth Wood?

Beth Wood had planned on running for her fifth consecutive term as the state auditor until she drove her state issued vehicle up onto the hood of a parked car and fled the scene. Anyone with an IQ north of two can reasonably assume she was impaired.

Surveillance video showed her getting into a vehicle accompanied by a male companion before the accident three minutes later. But somehow, she vanished like a fart in the wind.

She tried to hang on and preserve her political career but a week later a Wake County grand jury indicted her on other charges related to misusing state property. GPS data and other information presented by the State Bureau of Investigation found that she had regularly used her vehicle for personal purposes.

Wood promptly resigned, later pled guilty to the hit and run charge, and was ordered to pay restitution in excess of $11,000.

Ironically, she called out the state’s Motor Fleet Management Division for failing to keep a close enough eye on vehicle usage in 2019.

Who is Dana “Lex” Luther?

In the intervening six months, the governing body tapped Dana Luther to serve as the interim town manager before ultimately hiring Charles “Twig” Rollins who officially took the helm in mid-October.

“Lex” Luther appears to be one of this story’s most prominent villains.

As I understand it, she had a good gig before Whitaker came along. She was the part-time finance officer for Summerfield who got to work from home before it was en vogue. You see, she had her own accounting firm that apparently kept her busy.

Back when Whitaker was hired as the town manager, she was also serving as the interim town manager. It is my understanding that she competed for the permanent town manager position but lost out to Whitaker.

Luther left the organization shortly thereafter in late 2012 and may have harbored bad blood towards Whitaker.

Sources inform me that Luther masterminded a public attack against Dee Hall in 2018 suggesting she was incompetent and incapable of overseeing the town’s finances.

In 2019, she ran for council against Tim Sessoms and lost badly. Tim is currently the mayor and has expressed public support for both Whitaker and Hall.

There is a pervasive sentiment that bitter “Lex” Luther considered herself the all-knowing expert on all things municipal accounting. It is alleged that she worked tirelessly behind the scenes to sabotage Whitaker and Hall over the years accusing them of fiscal mismanagement, ineptitude, and perhaps even worse.

It is further believed that when she was installed as the interim town manager six months ago that she went digging for mistakes or acts that could be bastardized as criminal acts of deceit and self-enrichment. This information was then fed to the new manager and governing body, setting off this entire farce of an investigation.

Reports suggest that even if all of the leave and PTO were actually cashed out improperly that it amounts to something under $10,000 in total.

However, the council has not released any information about what this actual investigation has cost the taxpayers of Summerfield.

Whitaker & Hall Speak Out

Whitaker and Hall have spoken out as forcefully as they possibly can.

Hall fearlessly sat down for an interview with a local reporter and unequivocally denounced the allegations and maintained her innocence.

Handcuffed by a non-disparagement clause in his settlement agreement, Whitaker has been a bit more muted saying the following:

“A nine-page report was hastily presented based on allegations instigated by Luther, Rollins, and majority Council, and it was underpinned by a one-day auditor visit and no questioning of accused parties.

I did not sabotage or create roadblocks for a new administration. The network server was left well organized by department and function and was backed up daily with ample redundancy. Employees were not only fiercely dedicated but also competent. Honest conversations and internal records will disprove these claims if former staff are allowed access.”

And Mayor Sessoms has also issued a lengthy statement in support of Whitaker and Hall. The full text can be read here, but it states in part:

“What is also troubling is that the council’s inner circle and select media seemingly were given advance notice of allegations in the investigative report presented at the Jan. 14 meeting, while I and another council member were excluded. But even worse, the accused former employees were not contacted and given an opportunity to respond and/or offer explanations before these allegations were made public. This approach undermines fairness and transparency.”

This will be the first of several reports as we monitor this developing situation.