Given public commment at city council Monday night and this, it makes me sick that we as tax payers are paying of Cindy’s harassment law suits. Law suits with non-disclosure agreements? People leaving? Hand picked supporters working for her and then bringing a law suit? So many red flags.

The Columbus dispatch published this article this morning.

DELAWARE — The city's longtime Municipal Court Clerk is being accused by several current and former employees of running an abusive and hostile workplace.

Accusations against Clerk Cindy Dinovo, who has held the elected office since January, 2008, include belittling and insulting comments directed at employees, orders for employees to canvass neighborhoods for her political campaigns and threats of demotion or firing for those who stand up to her.

In a lengthy interview with The Dispatch, Dinovo denied all of the allegations and said she wonders if they are politically motivated. She plans to run for reelection in 2025.

On Monday, Tabatha Sisson, went before Delaware City Council and accused Dinovo of calling one of her coworkers a racial slurs.

"The statement was heard by many of my co-workers," Sisson said, amid a large group of Boy Scouts at the meeting, there to learn how government works.

While the court records weren't available at the meeting, Sisson described before council another civil lawsuit, in 2013, involving similar language that was settled out of court and with an agreement for both sides to not discuss.

"Does the city condone this type of behavior? Does the Republican Party condone this type of behavior?" Sisson asked. "Knowing that she has been sued for such a disgusting comment makes me think you do."

Sisson now owns a home cleaning business, saying she's unable to work anywhere else. She said she wants relief for those still working for Dinovo.

"I quit my boss, not my job," she told council.

Others spoke to The Dispatch after the council meeting.

"She demanded to see my cellphone. She thought I was talking about her and the work environment," said Ashley Pothast, explaining her resignation from the clerk's office in March. She now works at Attindas, a Delaware diaper manufacturer.

Co-workers of hers said they'd often break down in tears after work and feared to return.

"It just broke my heart," said Melody Kerr, who quit four years ago after a 20-year career, receiving a legal settlement from the city for the workplace harassment, she said. Neither the city nor Kerr were permitted to discuss the confidential settlement.

The criticism has come from several former deputy clerks. And from Dinovo's current chief deputy, Lisa Keller, whom Dinovo chose for her right-hand job.

Raise rescinded for refusing unethical conduct, chief deputy says

In a July 30 letter to Dinovo, Keller's attorney, Michael A. Moses, reminds Dinovo that she recently agreed to give Keller a 5% merit raise that was then rescinded, purportedly for "lack of training and failure to meet your expectations." But Keller was never given a written job description or performance goals for the job when she was hired a year ago, Moses wrote.

Dinovo tried to demote Keller to deputy clerk and about half of her $40-plus hourly pay. After receiving Moses' letter, that didn't happen, but neither did Keller's 5% raise.

"It is disturbing that this sudden 'about face' toward Lisa comes on the heels of her report of what she believes to be unethical conduct by virtue of your employees being directed and/or encouraged to perform partisan political work on your behalf," Moses wrote.

He also noted that Dinovo demanded that an employee's resignation letter be altered to exclude disparaging remarks about Dinovo by the employee, but Keller refused to do so.

Moses states that Keller had a legal duty to report potential wrongdoing or unethical behavior by a public official and cannot be punished for doing so. He is asking the city for a range of personnel records related to the incidents and Keller's employment.

High turnover, low morale and litigation

Dinovo's staff of about 14 people has experienced relatively high turnover in the last few years. The office performs tasks like taking fines, filling out and filing documents and scheduling hearings.

Since 2020, there have been 20 employees leave the clerk's office, with six departures in 2022, according to city personnel data.

Several former deputy clerks attended Monday's Delaware City Council meeting. Others submitted written statements.

"I've witnessed Cindy verbally abuse many employees in front of everyone, scream at people including myself, belittle people and talk to people like they were idiots or small children," wrote Pothast.

"I really don't understand how someone could be so cruel and mean to those that have not done anything purposefully to hurt or wrong her," wrote ex-employee Ethan Hutchinson.

In an email to City Councilwoman Katlin Frazier, Pothast described Dinovo's reaction after learning that Pothast had shared concerns about the workplace to a friend.

"Cindy demanded to see my personal cellphone and personal text messages with this friend. I told her I didn’t have them anymore, that they were deleted. She told me to get them to her by the next day or action will be taken," Pothast wrote.

She then was told she'd been reassigned to a job in the office she had not been trained for, forcing her "to make a bunch of mistakes and then after that they would have a reason to fire me," Pothast wrote. "I knew Cindy was going to fire me and I was out on sick time for a week, and I just decided to resign and never went back." She resigned in March.

More than one former staffer said that Dinovo rarely spent a full day in the office and was fond of saying, "I'm untouchable and I love my paycheck," Pothast said, after Monday's meeting.

Another employee, Blake Higgins, when asked in a July 1 employee exit survey what changes might have kept her from quitting, wrote:

"HR handling the way Cindy treats her employees and co-workers. Tells them 'you are nothing' and things along those lines. Actually said that exact sentence to someone once. Just horrible in all honesty. Goes to lunch with her employees to talk s*** about other employees. Only know that (because) the employees then tell the others. Starts drama between employees to entertain herself. Training is a complete and total joke there. Never worked in such a horrible environment."

Councilwoman Frazier said after the meeting that council has little to do with countywide elected officials, even though the clerk's office is part of city government. "It's up to the people to decide at an election," she said.

Higgins, who now works at home, told The Dispatch, "Watching people get mistreated like this, it just gets exhausting."

Dinovo's response and blanket denials

"It's just untrue. I don't talk like that," Dinovo told The Dispatch, specifically addressing the racial epithets.

She said that rescinding Keller's raise came after "talking to my staff. There were several issues and concerns about (Keller's) ability." She said it was not retaliatory.

A job in the municipal court clerk's office is demanding. Starting pay is about $23 per hour. But Dinovo said interacting with those assessed fines or punishment can be challenging.

This isn't the place for everybody," said Dinovo, whose annual salary is about $128,000. "When I hire people, I always say, 'People don't want to work here' ... it can be a stressful environment.'"

She described her staff as good and 'happy," and called herself a good person and good boss.

"I'm a caring individual." She called the accusations falsehoods, but gave no explanation for them.

"There's my truth. There's their truth. And I think there's more of my truth than theirs," Dinovo said.

"I don't think it's a fair overview of me," she said. "I'm not saying that I'm perfect at all. But I certainly am not what they are representing."

Requests for comment from City of Delaware and Republican Party officials were not immediately returned.

- Heather Rodenberg