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Granby town manager fired Monday morning

Tonya Bina
Sky-Hi Daily News

For Granby Town Manager David Huseman, the New Year started on a sour note.

The manager, employed with the town since November 2006, got a phone call informing him he was fired at 8:30 a.m. Monday morning.

Why his employment ended upon his annual review, he isn’t certain.



Due to “employer/employee confidentiality,” Granby Town Mayor Ted Wang said he could not provide specifics, saying that “things just didn’t work out under the terms of his contract.”

The decision to sever Huseman’s employment stemmed from three meetings on the matter, none of which Huseman attended.



During a personnel briefing, Huseman asked to have his employment review conducted by the town board in closed session rather than in open meetings.

After executive sessions held by the Granby town board on Dec. 11, Dec. 18 and Dec. 28, Huseman was informed of the board’s unanimous decision to terminate his employ with the town.

By afternoon yesterday, he had not yet been given details as to the reasons behind the decision.

He said, he had not been given a chance to discuss his performance with the board of trustees during his review process.

Huseman had a contract to work for the town of Granby until Nov. 6, 2009. According to the contract, if Huseman was terminated before the end of his contract, he would be awarded a lump sum equal to four month’s salary as a severance package.

The town manager was making $86,000 per year plus benefits.

The town released a statement Monday morning regarding Huseman’s termination. It reads, “The decision to end David Huseman’s employment as town manager was a difficult one to reach. Mr. Huseman has brought new perspectives and energy to his position, but ultimately the board felt that he and the town were not a good fit for each other. The termination of his employment is ‘without cause,’ and the board wishes him well in his future pursuits.”

Wang said, “After a very thorough six-month review, we had quite a bit of discussion about things we felt were important. It’s not a decision the board took lightly, we looked at a lot of things and just decided it just wasn’t a good fit.”

The board’s decision to exclude Huseman during talks about his employment was to allow trustees to “talk freely about what they want to do with the information they’d been presented.” He likened the trustees’ position to any employer or manager.

The board plans to begin a search for a new town manager immediately.

“It is hoped a manager can be hired within three months,” the release said. “For the immediate future, coordination of town business will be overseen by the mayor with the assistance of the board of trustees.”

Mark Bujanovich was the only trustee not present in the final unanimous vote to terminate Huseman.

In December, the trustee gave the board a letter of resignation because of questions about his residency. The trustee, whose term is up in April, was a legal resident until he transferred ownership of in-town property in December. Upon the transaction, he notified the board. Trustees plans to discuss his eligibility to serve on the board until the end of his term and make a final ruling at the Jan. 8 board meeting.

By late afternoon, Huseman said things were tense at home as he broke the news to his family.

“I’m proud of what we’ve accomplished since I’ve been here,” he said, listing Raffety Park, the land the town obtained for affordable housing from Granby Ranch and Grand Elk, a 2008 budget that is clearer and easier to read for the citizens of Granby, a “fair and impartial employee performance evaluation system” he developed, and the “big step” the town has taken toward taking better care of its streets.

“I’m happy I got to meet all the really good people I did get to meet and work for and make projects happen,” he said. “There are a lot of really good people in Granby.”

Huseman owns a home in Granby, but has yet to decide what the future holds.

“I’ll remain very professional and do what’s best for the town as a whole,” he said.

” Tonya Bina can be reached at 887-3334 ext. 19603 or e-mail tbina@grandcountynews.com.


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