Christian Vosler | Kitsap

BREMERTON — A Bremerton public works employee accused of using city resources to purchase construction equipment and operating a side business during work hours was fired Thursday after an internal investigation found he violated city ethics and conflict of interest policies.

James Iovinelli, a senior street services specialist, was at the center of an investigation that found evidence of “systemic complacency” among the public works department’s upper management, leading Mayor Greg Wheeler to fire public works director Chal Martin earlier this month. Three other public works employees, including operations manager Milenka Hawkins-Bates, were also disciplined.

Iovinelli was fired for “incompetency, inattention or dereliction in the performance of duties,” and “breach of public trust or unethical conduct,” among other violations, according to documents obtained by the Kitsap Sun through a public records request.

Iovinelli was also accused of insubordination for discussing the investigation with another employee via text message, according to his disciplinary notice.

The investigation by Greg Wilson of PST Investigations found that Iovinelli attempted to cut a deal with a Canadian company for two excavators, one for the city and one for himself, without following city purchasing procedures. Iovinelli was also known to run a cement-pouring business on the side and would frequently leave city job sites to check on other projects, according to interviews in the report.

Ethics violations

In 2017, Iovinelli arranged to buy two excavators from British Columbia-based company Tractorhill Sales, according to documents.

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In an email, Tractorhill requested that Iovinelli pay for his personal excavator with a cashier’s check and cash. The city’s excavator would be paid for with a check from the city for $24,900, with the remaining $4,300 charged to a city credit card.

Any purchase over $25,000 requires city council approval as well as a minimum of three bids or an advertisement for bids. The investigation found no evidence that Iovinelli had gone through the proper channels for approval or solicitation of bids.

“It appears the outlined payment structure is an attempt to circumvent City Council Review and approval requirements,” the investigator wrote.

In his disciplinary notice, interim public works director Tom Knuckey wrote that the attempt to buy the excavators violated the city's conflict of interest and ethics policies, as well as the usual procurement procedures.

“There was no evidence that you attempted to buy local or that you followed the required bid procedures,” Knuckey wrote.

Several street department workers told the investigator that Iovinelli would leave for 20 to 30 minutes at a time and told them he was going to check on side jobs.

In an interview with the investigator, Iovinelli denied reports that he left city jobs to check on his cement side business. In response to questions, Iovinelli said most of his jobs were not in Bremerton and that he had never checked on a personal job on city time.

“I think they’re misunderstanding me then when I say I’m gonna go check on a job,” Iovinelli told the investigator.

Iovinelli said if he ever left a job site, it was to get tools or equipment for the job. If he did leave to check on his side business, Iovinelli said he would have submitted a leave slip.

The investigation still found evidence that Iovinelli had used city time for personal business, a violation of employee conduct policies.

Iovinelli did not respond to phone calls requesting comment on Friday.

Claims of retaliation

City employees who are being considered for discipline have the right to a meeting where they can explain themselves or provide additional information.

In a pre-hearing letter to the city, Iovinelli wrote that he viewed the investigation as retaliatory and referenced a letter he had written to his supervisors in November.

“I believe my letter of November 8, 2018, to my superiors which led to a subsequent meeting with my superiors a few days later to address workplace issues was an honest attempt to set things right,” Iovinelli wrote. “Indeed, I felt myself and my superiors were on the same page and all was well after meeting. Now, I see the whole investigation of me as retaliation.”

Knuckey replied that the investigation began on Nov. 20, 2018, and that city HR was not aware of the letter until after the investigation was finished. Iovinelli's superiors were not aware of the investigation until January 2019, when they were told they would be interviewed, Knuckey wrote.

The city announced in a news release Thursday that it will implement training on city procurement and ethics policies as a result of the investigation. Several issues that came up in the report are still being investigated, according to Wheeler.