By Jennifer Edwards
The Cincinnati Enquirer

Nell Kilpatrick

LIBERTY TWP. - Trustees will meet behind closed doors again today to discuss the status of township administrator Nell Kilpatrick, who has been on sick leave since Feb. 4.

Trustee Bob Shelley, says the other two trustees, Christine Matacic and David Kern, want to fire Kilpatrick.

"It's a real mess," Shelley said. "I feel sorry for the people of Liberty."

Matacic has declined to discuss the details of her concerns about Kilpatrick's performance.

"Nell has some very good qualities and very good strengths, but there's always going to be questions when it comes to different personalities," she said.

Kern has declined comment.

Kilpatrick, 59, is referring questions to her attorney, who has not returned calls for comment.

But she previously has told the Enquirer she did not attend the portion of the Feb. 3 executive session when her performance was discussed. She also said trustees had not raised any issues with her.

Trustees, however, criticized her management and conduct in her last evaluation, in July of last year, a copy obtained by the Enquirer shows.

The Enquirer also obtained a copy of a Kilpatrick response to that evaluation, in which she wrote trustees in October 2002 and stated that she was working on addressing those issues.

Neither document was in Kilpatrick's personnel file, as they should have been. Township officials say they do not know why the public records were missing.

The issue of Kilpatrick's performance came to a head after trustees received calls from upset employees the weekend of Feb. 1-2, Shelley said. Trustees received phone calls after Kilpatrick notified supervisors that trustees were discussing changing how much the township contributes to health benefits for workers, Shelley said.

Kilpatrick's abrupt absence has stunned many in this Butler County township of 25,000 people, which had a 147 percent population increase in the 1990s. Some business leaders who have worked with her are expressing support for her in e-mails and letters to trustees. Liberty has important projects on the table now: a proposed eastward interchange off the Michael A. Fox Highway at Interstate 75 and joint economic development districts with Mason and Hamilton.

"To replace her at this time could perhaps cause years of delay for these projects," Richard Martin, executive vice president of Todd Development Company Inc., wrote to trustees Feb. 10.

E-mail jedwards@enquirer.com.