Ogdensburg manager responds to firing

OGDENSBURG — City Manager Arthur J. Sciorra is telling the City Council, “See you in court.”

Mr. Sciorra has responded to a preliminary resolution firing him with a statement that claims no wrongdoing on his part.

“As far as I am concerned, I am of clear conscience, performing my duties with dignity at all times,” he wrote in a statement released Tuesday.

Mr. Sciorra’s statement said that he will settle his dispute with Ogdensburg through legal channels.

The City Council on Monday passed the resolution beginning the process of ending Mr. Sciorra’s tenure with the city, suspending him with pay. The move came after a prolonged investigation into his dealings with a property at 819 Knox St., a city-owned house in which a family was allowed to live for three years without paying rent or taxes.

“We are not done and we will resolve the issues unresolved as of today in court,” the statement said.

On Dec. 7, Mr. Sciorra filed a notice of claim with the city clerk — a legally required precursor to a lawsuit filed against a municipality — in which he accuses the city, Mayor William D. Nelson, Deputy Mayor Michael D. Morley and former city planner J. Justin Woods of defamation of character and breach of contract.

Mr. Sciorra said in his statement that the investigation into the Knox Street matter shows he did nothing wrong.

“As you also know, the report made by the City Council exonerated me of any wrongdoing,” he said in the statement.

The City Council disagreed with Mr. Sciorra, passing the resolution to terminate him with cause in a 5-to-1 vote. Councilor Daniel E. Skamperle was the lone dissenter.

“There are issues I have with the resolution itself,” he said. “It says that Art Sciorra willfully did the things he did with habitual neglect and incompetence, and I don’t see it based on the report.”

The council had the option to fire Mr. Sciorra without cause, but that would have entitled him to six months of severance pay and benefits.

“I told them in executive session that if the resolution could have been reworded to termination without cause, I might have gone along with it,” Mr. Skamperle said.

The resolution, obtained by the Watertown Daily Times on Tuesday, claims that Mr. Sciorra is guilty of willful misconduct, habitual neglect of duty, incompetence and conduct incompatible with his duties as specified in the city charter.

The council gave six specific reasons for firing Mr. Sciorra, each related to his dealings with the property at 819 Knox St.

The first is that he took no steps beyond a set of emails to Mr. Woods, interim City Attorney A. Michael Gebo and City Comptroller Philip A. Cosmo, asking them to bring the Knox Street situation to a conclusion by acquiring a lease or evicting the occupants.

The council also cited Mr. Sciorra’s failure to take action to ensure that his instructions to city staff were followed; that he allowed the issue to fall through the cracks despite being informed on multiple occasions about the property; that he chronically delegated responsibilities and failed to direct and supervise city agencies; that he made false and misleading statements to a city councilor and the City Council, including admitting to lying to Mr. Morley during an Oct. 24 council meeting, and that he made false and misleading statements to the public.

Mr. Morley and Mr. Nelson declined to comment due to Mr. Sciorra’s pending lawsuit.