County Suspends Dupre

BROOKSVILLE - Human Resources Director Barbara Dupre has been suspended without pay for five days and given a stern warning that any further misconduct will result in her termination.

In a harshly written letter, Interim County Administrator Larry Jennings said Dupre had "clearly undermined the reputation of (County Commissioner Diane Rowden) by making unsubstantiated accusations about her conduct."

Jennings said Dupre also committed insubordination by failing to file a letter of admonishment in her personnel file and for not accepting responsibility for her comments to the media.

"Your conduct has embarrassed me, the (county) commissioners, the county's residents and all of your fellow employees," Jennings wrote.

Her suspension began immediately, during which time she is prohibited from participating in the ongoing county administrator selection process.

When she returns to work Tuesday, Jan. 22, she will be on probationary status for six months.

"Please be advised that this is your final warning," Jennings wrote. "Any further misconduct on your part will result in your termination."

When Hernando Today attempted to contact Dupre for a comment, a department employee would not transfer the call and abruptly ended the conversation.

"We are not allowed to speak to you," she said. "Have a nice day."

Rowden said she believed it would be inappropriate for her to comment on the outcome of the investigation.

"I support Larry Jennings and his administrative position," Rowden said.

Dupre, who makes about $92,486 annually, has been the county's human resources director for about 10 years. Her five-day suspension will cost her about $1,926.

The events leading up to Friday's suspension actually began around Oct. 3, 2007, when then-County Administrator Gary Kuhl and Jennings discovered a stack of signature cards for a county commission candidate "in plain sight in your office," Jennings wrote.

At least one of the cards was filled out by one of Dupre's employees, the investigation found.

The name of the candidate was not made public.

Kuhl, in a letter to Dupre dated Oct. 8, remarked that keeping the signature cards represented poor judgment and instructed her to place a copy of his letter in her personnel file.

On Jan. 4, a Hernando Today reporter conducted a public records review of Dupre's personnel file and did not find Kuhl's letter.

When asked why it was not there, Dupre said she had not had the time to file it and that she did not regard the letter as disciplinary in nature. Dupre said she believed she did nothing wrong and violated no policy in keeping the campaign cards in her office.

She then accused Rowden or someone she knew of somehow obtaining access to her office after hours, spotting the cards and reporting it to Kuhl.

The allegations, which Rowden vehemently denied, appeared in a story published Jan. 5 in Hernando Today.

Jennings also cites a story from another newspaper that was published three days later in which Dupre also admitted she did nothing wrong and she disagreed with Kuhl's decision to have his letter placed in her personnel file.

In a meeting with Jennings on Jan. 9, Dupre denied making the statements attributed to her in both newspapers, according to Jennings' letter.

"You did not appear to accept any real responsibility for the controversy that your media comments created," Jennings wrote.

In a phone conversation late Friday, Jennings told Hernando Today he did not mandate that Dupre make a public apology. But he believes it is appropriate.

"The apology should come from her if she feels like she should apologize," Jennings said.

Based on her comments in the newspapers, Jennings said he believes her actions "resulted in a discredit to Hernando County."