2 city employees disciplined

SANDUSKY — Two employees for Sandusky's government each received a 10-day unpaid suspension and a demotion for failing to perform their job duties. Both John Holman and Dave Keegan were "charged with intentional neglect, dereliction of duties and gross incompetence," according to documents the Register obtained through a public records request. The incident only came to light after the Register received an anonymous tip regarding this incident and asked for documents. Back in March, both men — while working a night shift at the sewer/wastewater treatment plant on Harrison Street — didn't respond to an alarm during a rainstorm. This resulted in an overflow event. What it meant: Raw/untreated water entered Sandusky Bay/Lake Erie, which caused pollution, and could have been prevented had these workers paid attention and performed their normal duties, according to city manager John Orzech and public works director Aaron Klein. It's not known why the workers didn't respond to the incident. One worker claimed he didn't see the alarms. The other said he wasn't directly responsible for taking action in this specific situation. "These employees had been there for years, and they should have known exactly what to do in those situations," Klein said. "So we went through a discipline process, and they were disciplined appropriately." Following their suspensions, both Holman and Keegan — both 20-plus-year city employees — received a demotion to roles equivalent to entry-level positions. Both also received a last-chance agreement, alluding to future failures in their jobs will result in termination. About two weeks after the discipline came down, Keegan quit his job, no longer working for Sandusky's government. Sometimes sewer overflows do occur because they can't be prevented during heavy rainstorm events. Both Klein and Orzech noted the city has invested millions of dollars this past decade to reduce overflow events to best protect Sandusky's greatest natural resource: Sandusky Bay/Lake Erie. They also credited other sewer employees who do commendable work to protect people and the environment. "We have a responsibility to the environment along with the residents and employees," Klein said. "If we have something like this that requires discipline, we are going to take swift action to make sure it doesn't happen again." Both Orzech and Klein underscored how there hasn't been an issue at the sewer plant since this incident has occurred.