Gunn submits resignation from IT job

LOWVILLE — The Lewis County information technology director resigned Tuesday, nearly a week after he was asked to by a pair of county officials.

"I have no recourse at all," said Thomas P. Gunn, who in August 2001 was appointed the county's first director of information technology.

Mr. Gunn, 67, said he was told last Wednesday by County Manager David H. Pendergast and Legislator Patrick F. Wallace, R-Lowville, chairman of the legislative Information Management Committee, that things were "just not working" between him and legislators. He was asked to submit his resignation or be subject to termination, and his computer systems passwords subsequently were changed.

After consulting with an attorney, Mr. Gunn decided that waiting to be fired and attempting an appeal wouldn't be worth the effort. Instead, he negotiated a severance deal and turned in a letter of resignation.

Mr. Gunn said he would have liked to work for the county at least three more years to become eligible for continued health insurance coverage as a retiree.

While still not completely sure of the reasoning behind the forced resignation, Mr. Gunn guessed that it stemmed primarily from lingering disagreements with a few other department heads.

He said some legislators had called late last week to let him know they were unaware of the plan to force his resignation.

Legislator Michael A. Tabolt, R-Croghan, a member of the legislative Information Technology Committee, was one of them. He met privately Tuesday afternoon with Mr. Pendergast to discuss the situation and, afterward, seemed satisfied with the explanation.

Mr. Tabolt commended Mr. Gunn for continually taking on added responsibilities but suggested that may have partly been his undoing.

"I think he tried to take on more than one man could handle," the legislator said.

Legislature Chairman Jack T. Bush, R-Brantingham, declined to comment on the reasoning, saying it is a personnel matter.

County officials haven't decided how to address Mr. Gunn's resignation but probably will leave the position vacant for the next two to four weeks to see how the Information Technology Department workload shapes up, Mr. Bush said.

The department's three computer technicians will answer directly to the county manager during that time, he said.

Mr. Gunn's annual salary this year was $67,000.

The former director, who has sold his lakefront home in Brantingham and is building a new one just off the lake, doesn't plan to sit still for too long.

"Some consulting opportunities have come forward, and I've got a couple application ideas," he said.

Mr. Gunn, who serves on the Greig Town Council and maintains the town's Web site, said he also can donate more time to town business, particularly the Black River Watershed Planning Initiative.

The regional project, intended to improve opportunities to use and protect the river, is contracted through the town of Greig and coordinated by the Lewis County Soil and Water Conservation District.

The Tug Hill Commission and state Department of Environmental Conservation also are working with the district on the project.

Prior to his employment with the county, Mr. Gunn had been systems administrator for the city of Oswego and worked out of his home as a senior software engineer for Munis, an accounting software company.