Hudson reaches $80,000 settlement agreement with former city manager

Hudson City Council voted 6-0 Wednesday to pay its former city manager $80,000 to settle a dispute that followed her contentious exit from the position two years ago.

Jane Howington reached a deal to resign in March 2022 after the council prepared to suspend her from the city's top administrative post, citing "consistently below-average annual review scores" over a two-year period. She had been city manager since 2014. Late last year, the city had filed a complaint in Summit County Common Pleas Court claiming Howington violated the non-disparagement section of her separation agreement. The court dismissed the case less than two months later.

In May, Judge Kathryn Michael ruled Howington was entitled to recoup legal feels connected to the city's legal action against her, calling the abandoned lawsuit "frivolous."

Hamilton DeSaussure Jr., Howington's legal representative, said the court had been scheduled to meet July 22 to determine how much the city owed in legal fees.

"The city had used taxpayer dollars to punish Jane for using her civil rights, and are now using taxpayer dollars to settle this violation against her civil rights," DeSaussure said.

In a statement released Wednesday, city officials said neither side admitted fault under the settlement — which they called "a compromise to resolve disputed claims and to avoid further costs, uncertainties, and inconvenience."

Part of the settlement included removing the confidentiality and non-disparagement clauses in the prior agreement, the city stated.

Reporter April Helms can be reached at ahelms@thebeaconjournal.com

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Hudson reaches $80,000 settlement agreement with former city manager