Former town employee alleges procedural problems, council moves to executive session on personnel matter

Former town employee Jan Makash addressed the Hideout Town Council during a public hearing on alleged irregularities surrounding her termination and asked the council to consider procedural and substantive questions about the decision.

"My name is Jan Makash," she said, describing more than 30 years of municipal-finance experience and recounting that she was dismissed after being asked to leave an earlier closed session on June 11. She said the town code requires termination "by advice and consent of the council" and said she was not provided an opportunity to be heard prior to her removal from duties.

Makash alleged her termination was pretextual and retaliatory, linking it to her recent questions about financial modeling on a proposed MIDA agreement that she said could have resulted in a multi-million-dollar deficit for taxpayers. She asked the council to review the process, to preserve her employment benefits including unpaid time off and insurance, and said she would pursue details through discovery if necessary.

Following Makash's remarks the council opened the public hearing and then a council member moved to go into executive session to discuss employment matters. The council voted to enter executive session at approximately 6:44 p.m. to discuss personnel issues.

The council did not announce further action in public before moving into closed session. Officials told the room the closed session would be limited in length and that any required public action would be taken afterward consistent with the town code and state open-meeting law.