Veteran Lexington emergency management chief suspended over money. Here's why.

Sep. 3--The longtime director of Lexington emergency management has been suspended for 160 hours -- roughly one month -- for using grant money improperly, according to documents obtained by the Lexington Herald-Leader.

Pat Dugger, who has been director of emergency management since 1988, charged a federal Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness Program grant for staff time when employees were not working on programs related to that grant.

From April to July, Dugger charged the Chemical Stockpile Emergency Preparedness program $13,000 for staff time. Moreover, Dugger misled city officials about whether she got prior approval to do so, according to documents in Dugger's personnel file, which the Herald-Leader obtained through an Open Records Act request.

Dugger has appealed the unpaid suspension to the city's Civil Service Commission, which hears city employees disciplinary appeals. A date for that hearing has not been set. Dugger's suspension began Monday and will continue until the end of September, according to documents in Dugger's personnel file.

Dugger and Dugger's office is overseeing the city's coronavirus response efforts, including managing many of the city's mobile testing sites. Dugger's suspension will not affect that effort, said Susan Straub, a spokeswoman for the city.

Deputy Director Tim Brandewie has been appointed to oversee emergency management during Dugger's suspension, she said.

"The city's response to the COVID-10 pandemic or any other situation is not dependent upon any one person or division," Straub said.

Dugger told city officials she was given prior approval to charge employee time to that chemical stockpile grant, which is given to counties surrounding the Blue Grass Army Depot in Madison County. The depot stores chemical weapons and the grant money has helped pay for preparations in case of a leak.

"Conversations with those individuals and a review of documents related to the matter indicate a clear contradiction in her account," the disciplinary letter said.

The disciplinary letter notes Dugger did not personally benefit from charging staff time to that grant but "they were improper and could jeopardize future access to the CSEPP grant and other grants."

Moreover, after a meeting with Public Safety Commissioner Ken Armstrong and a city attorney about the CSEPP grant, Dugger was told not to discuss the matter with any employees so as not to jeopardize the investigation.

"It was determined within an hour of leaving the meeting, Director Dugger contacted the CSEPP coordinator for her office and discussed both the allocation and the meeting that had just occurred," according to documents related to Dugger's suspension.

Straub said the city will not have to repay any money that was charged to the chemical weapons program grant. The administrator of the CSEPP grant in Frankfort is aware of the issue, she said.

The city typically receives around $1 million through the CSEPP grant. The chemical stockpile grant money has also been used to pay for capital projects, including $3.5 million for a new Public Safety Emergency Operations Center, which opened in 2016.

According to records in Dugger's personnel file, Dugger has been in trouble with city officials before over CSEPP grant money.

In 2015, she received a written reprimand for "inappropriate and unprofessional" behavior during a meeting with CSEPP officials at a budget meeting in July 2015.

"The behavior was characterized by two tenured fellow LFUCG Public Safety employees who were also in attendance as rude, obstinate, argumentative and contentious," wrote then-Public Safety Commissioner Ronnie Bastin. According to the written reprimand, Bastin later went to Frankfort to meet with CSEPP officials about Dugger's contentious behavior, which state officials told Bastin was an ongoing problem, according to records in the file.

Dugger could not be reached for comment.

___

(c)2020 the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.)

Visit the Lexington Herald-Leader (Lexington, Ky.) at www.kentucky.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.