The woman who ran the Salt Lake County Recorder’s Office while her boss apparently suffered from a debilitating and now permanent mental incapacity is asking for severance pay after she was not retained by the newly selected recorder.
Julie Dole, who offered changing answers for whether then-Recorder Gary Ott was largely absent from running his office after his 2014 election, wrote in a letter this week she’d like the county to pay her on her way out.
County Republicans overwhelmingly passed her over in choosing an interim recorder following Ott’s Aug. 1 resignation. Instead, they picked Adam Gardiner, a state representative from West Jordan, who on his first day in office last Friday told Dole that she wouldn’t be keeping her job.
Dole wrote in a letter to County Council members and Mayor Ben McAdams that losing her appointed position puts her in a tough financial spot. She wrote that she spent her savings on breast cancer treatment.
Six weeks of pay, she said, would allow her to feed her two children and transition to a new job. She also suggested the county could consider giving her three months of severance pay to ease her departure, the maximum allowed by the county’s severance pay policy.
“I ask that as you consider my request that you view the honorable way in which I conducted my position as Chief Deputy Recorder in running the Recorder’s Office with efficiency and integrity,” Dole wrote in the letter. “Noting that during Mr. Ott’s challenges and all the difficulties it placed in the way, I never waivered (sic) in my dedication to meeting the needs of the Office and it’s (sic) staff and customers.”
Dole first announced she was fighting what she called a “winning” battle with breast cancer the day county Republicans were set to meet to discuss an ongoing investigation into her. In her Aug. 21 letter seeking severance, she also claimed cancer would be considered a pre-existing condition that would prevent her from obtaining a new health care plan. The Affordable Care Act bars insurers from denying health coverage for pre-existing conditions.
Dole made an annual base salary of $140,000 before benefits. Twelve weeks pay before taxes would be $32,308, which is close to what Ott’s family received for his indefinite care following his early resignation under a deal brokered by his family and the county. Dole’s salary was similar to Ott’s.
Dole’s letter indicates she was terminated, but Gardiner said that wasn’t the case. When he was selected to replace Ott, the terms of service for all appointed positions ended, so Dole “simply wasn‘t rehired,” Gardiner said in a Facebook post.
While the council hasn’t formally been asked to approve the request, Dole might face an uphill battle if the severance question is left up to council members.
“I’m not in a position to support a request for additional compensation” for Dole, Councilwoman Jenny Wilson said.
At least one member, however, said he’d consider debating the idea.
“I’d put it on [an agenda]. I mean, what the hell?” Councilman Jim Bradley said, adding that he was sympathetic to Dole‘s plea. “We could talk about it.”
Dole didn’t respond to a request for comment.