Kathleen Imhoff, who was fired by the board of the Lexington (Ky.) Public Library last July 15 after months of squabbling over the details of her expense accounts over the previous five years, notified American Libraries that she has filed suit after the board failed to settle her claims for pay and to apologize publicly. Imhoff said she is determined to clear her name, saying she was never found guilty of any misuse of library funds and the board's actions had damaged her reputation irreparably.
"On July 13, 2010, Kathleen R.T. Imhoff filed suit against the Lexington Public Library Board and its Chairman, Larry Smith, in the Fayette Circuit Court. Since the date of Ms. Imhoff’s dismissal without cause by the Lexington Public Library Board on July 15, 2009, Ms. Imhoff and her attorneys have been engaged almost continuously in efforts to resolve the dispute out of Court. Ms. Imhoff remained hopeful the Library Board would see fit to pay her what is due under her Employment Agreement, particularly after the Library’s outside auditor, Mountjoy Bressler & Chilton, rendered its audit report confirming that it found no problems concerning the Library’s use of credit cards or the documentation concerning such use and that it found no wrongdoing on the part of Ms. Imhoff. Given the results of the Library’s outside audit, Ms. Imhoff requested a public apology from the Library Board, which request was unfortunately denied by the Board.
"Because all efforts to resolve the issue of honoring her Employment Agreement have failed, Ms. Imhoff was left with no alternative but to institute litigation in order to protect her legal rights. She truly regrets that the matter was not resolved out of Court and wants the public to know that she did everything possible to avoid filing the present litigation. She remains hopeful that with new members on the Library Board the chance of reaching a reasonable and fair resolution of the current dispute is possible."