Lake Elmo is in an uproar over the unexplained departure of City Administrator Dean Zuleger.

Protesters plan a rally Thursday; dozens of pro-Zuleger signs have popped up across town; and members of the city’s Park Commission walked out of their Monday meeting in protest.

No official explanation has been given for Zuleger’s departure, but council member Justin Bloyer said Wednesday that Zuleger is leaving because of harassment by council member Anne Smith.

Bloyer said Zuleger asked the council in a closed meeting Feb. 24 to correct the “hostile work environment” created by Smith or he would resign.

Smith’s actions are detailed in a complaint that accuses the council member of slapping, screaming and poking at Zuleger on various occasions, and that three other city employees had filed similar harassment complaints.

Zuleger would not comment on the complaint, which is titled “Draft Summary of Complaint of Workplace Harassment of City Administrator Dean Zuleger by Council Member Anne Smith.”

It could not be confirmed on the record that the complaint was formally filed.

Smith did not respond to repeated phone and email requests for comment.

Witnesses to the alleged incidents of harassment included the mayor, council members and city staff, according to the complaint.

On four occasions, the complaint says, Smith threatened to fire Zuleger.

The council addressed the alleged harassment Sept. 2, when it censured Smith for mistreatment of city employees. She was ordered not to have contact with municipal workers without another council member present.

In December, the council gave Zuleger a favorable job review and an annual raise of $15,000. He had been on the job since January 2012.

“All four of us gave Zuleger the highest ratings,” said Wally Nelson, who was a council member at the time. The vote was unanimous; Smith was absent.

In January, two political newcomers — Julie Fliflet and Jill Lundgren — joined the council after defeating incumbents Wally Nelson and Mike Reeves. Fliflet and Lundgren had campaigned on a platform of slowing city growth and had run with support from Smith.

At the closed Feb. 24 meeting, the new council instructed the city attorney to negotiate a separation agreement with Zuleger.

But when city residents heard that the council was considering the separation agreement, they packed the room at a March 10 session, and several spoke in support of Zuleger.

Still, the council voted to negotiate the severance package, with Fliflet and Lundgren joining Smith to approve the measure. Mayor Mike Pearson and Bloyer opposed it.

“I believe this was political retribution by Anne Smith,” Bloyer said Wednesday.

Fliflet and Lundgren declined to comment for this story.

Former city council member Reeves said Zuleger is an “at-will” employee — so the council can accept his resignation or terminate his job at any time, for any reason.

“But the taxpayers of Lake Elmo deserve to know what the factors are,” he said.

Nelson said Zuleger did a great job and that “the business community loves him.”

Since the council’s action last week, an outcry has spread.

A sign at Hagberg’s Country Market in Lake Elmo reads: “We protest council vote.” Dozens of similar lawn signs have appeared around the city.

A group called “Wake Up, Lake Elmo” plans a rally in support of Zuleger at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lake Elmo Inn Event Center, 3712 Layton Ave. N.

An emailed posting said the group “will not tolerate bullying or harassment by any member of the Lake Elmo City Council.”

Ed Gorman, owner of Gorman’s Restaurant, described the backlash as “a tsunami.”

Pearson said the current discord follows years of tension over the city’s growth. The mayor said that despite a 2005 state Supreme Court decision that forced the city to grow, a small group of slow-growth advocates is making city government more chaotic.

“Chaos will inhibit growth,” Pearson said. “But chaos also prohibits improvements and increases our liabilities.”

He and several other officials mentioned legal liability — which can happen when an employer knows about a pattern of harassment but fails to fix it.

Former council member Reeves said Zuleger’s exodus is a highly visible sign that something is wrong.

“As a taxpayer, either we are hiring ineffective people or creating an environment where effective leaders can’t do their job. They either leave or get fired,” he said.

Zuleger is the city’s fifth administrator to leave in seven years.

“What concerns me is, with this kind of track record, who are you going to recruit?”

Bob Shaw can be reached at 651-228-5433.

Follow him at twitter.com/BshawPP.