Mr. Thomas P. Gunn

Gunn submits resignation from IT job
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"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.
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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.
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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.
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"I'm flabbergasted," Thomas P. Gunn said Friday from his Brantingham home.
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Mr. Gunn said he was told that things were "just not working" between him and legislators, and he was asked to submit his resignation or be subject to termination.He also was told there were no poor reviews or letters criticizing him.

After taking the remainder of Wednesday off using personal time, Mr. Gunn found Thursday that his system passwords had been changed, apparently at the suggestion of County Attorney Richard J. Graham.
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Mr. Gunn, who is a member of the Greig Town Council, acknowledged that he had "burned bridges" with several other department heads over recommendations he'd made and other dealings.He had been hopeful that Mr. Pendergast's idea of an information technology directions committee, composed of some other department heads, would improve those relations, but that never came to fruition, he said.

Mr. Gunn said his relationship with Mr. Wallace has not been particularly strong, either, possibly because of Mr. Gunn's ties with former County Manager Joseph L. Baruth Sr. Legislators in January chose not to reappoint Mr. Baruth after three years as county manager, privately citing concerns with his dominant personality, use of intimidation and tendency to take actions without legislative approval or consultation.Mr. Gunn said his relationship with Mr. Wallace has not been particularly strong, either, possibly because of Mr. Gunn's ties with former County Manager Joseph L. Baruth Sr. Legislators in January chose not to reappoint Mr. Baruth after three years as county manager, privately citing concerns with his dominant personality, use of intimidation and tendency to take actions without legislative approval or consultation.
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Mr. Gunn for several years also had held the unpaid title of county 911 director, but county officials earlier this year placed dispatch under the auspices of Sheriff L. Michael Tabolt.
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Regardless of what transpires, Mr. Gunn said, he's had a good time working for Lewis County."It's just been a wonderful set of opportunities," he said.

He had been systems administrator for the city of Oswego for four years until that position was dropped because of budget cuts.In the four years before that, he worked out of his home as a senior software engineer for Munis, an accounting software company.In that job, he traveled around the state installing software for school districts and municipalities.

Mr. Gunn, a Syracuse native, was introduced to Lewis County by the family of his wife, Peg, who had a summer cottage in Brantingham.He eventually moved into the area in 1984.