Cleveland Heights council presses mayor on staff safety, nonemployee access after administrator resigns

A special meeting of the Cleveland Heights City Council Committee of the Whole on April 2 focused on staff safety, alleged workplace misconduct and whether nonemployees have improper access to City Hall after the recent resignation of City Administrator Dan Horrigan. Council members pressed the mayor for details about an ongoing human-resources inquiry and asked the law director to research council’s authority to regulate access to city property.

The meeting drew renewed attention after a public records release and news coverage tied to Horrigan’s departure. Dan Horrigan, who resigned after roughly 2½ months on the job, told the council in a memo that “Your wife's presence here at City Hall has caused a number of employees to feel uncomfortable and at least 1 occasion unsafe,” and asked that the mayor’s wife “discontinue her presence here at City Hall and refrain from directing city Cleveland Heights staff in their work capacity.” Council members read aloud and cited that memo while debating next steps.

The mayor said his administration has engaged outside counsel to conduct an independent investigation and stressed he would not comment further until attorneys produced findings. “At no point was any employee retaliated against. That is unequivocal,” the mayor told the committee. He said the employee who reported feeling unsafe was placed on paid administrative leave “for the safety and security of that employee” after consultation with outside counsel, and the city is treating the submission as a complaint being investigated.

Council members sought more detail about the complaint process and employee protections. Law Director Hannah told the committee that the city’s employee handbook is posted on the city website but does not specifically address nonemployee key-card access; she also noted that ordinances generally vest the mayor with care, control and use of city property (citing Chapter 121.05). Several council members urged that the law director research whether the council may adopt ordinances or other measures to limit nonemployees’ access to city buildings and systems.

Members described multiple informal reports from current and former employees who said they felt bullied or intimidated while working in city government and said fear of retaliation limits staff willingness to come forward. One council member recommended bringing in outside human-resources expertise to assess whether problems are broader than the single, formally filed complaint under investigation; another cautioned the council to avoid public questioning that might prejudice the independent investigation or put employees on the spot.

Council and the mayor also discussed clarifying internal policies on records, email retention and whether deliverables from outside vendors are routed to official city accounts. Law Director Hannah said many public-records requests are for large email collections that take substantial staff time to process and that if no responsive records exist requesters will be advised accordingly. Council asked that the law department follow up on pending public-records requests and make responsive documents available to council members when appropriate.

The mayor said he is monitoring employee morale and intends to release the outside-investigator’s findings when they are complete; he also said he will consider re-opening the mayor’s search for a city administrator, including reviewing prior applicants and posting the role publicly. Several council members asked the law director to return with legal options for council action, including ordinance language if council chooses to seek additional oversight tools.

The committee did not take formal action or vote on any ordinance or personnel matter during the meeting. Members agreed to follow up at future meetings and to review records and the law director’s research before deciding whether to seek outside human-resources consultants or other remedies.