Kelly Reith was fired from his job as the city of Stevens Point’s assistant streets superintendent at noon Friday, Jan. 18.
He was a probationary employee with favorable evaluations. His termination letter doesn’t give a reason for his dismissal other than citing the city’s policy on probationary employees, which says “during an employee’s evaluation period, the city may terminate the employee for any reason the city in its sole discretion deems valid.”
Alderperson Mike Wiza, District 4, requested all emails related to Reith from between Dec. 1 and Feb. 8. He said the emails show Reith’s dismissal appears to have been in response to an email Reith sent to Mayor Andrew Halverson the afternoon of Thursday, Jan. 17, questioning the fairness of the city’s wellness incentives for its new health savings account (HSA) insurance.
Wiza said the firing has “sent a chill” through city staff and said he wants the city’s Personnel Committee to investigate the firing and to take a look at the structure of the city’s wellness plan.
Halverson said the firing is more complicated than it appears, though he declined to share additional details about it. “There’s a great deal more to the story that can’t be shared and won’t be shared,” he said. “I will not get into the specifics of who, what, when, where and why. That’s not something I will share, especially with the press. That’s not how we handle personnel matters.”
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