"Aviation board fires Augusta, Georgia airport director"

Friday, August 8, 2003

Aviation board fires director 
Job evaluation is cited in Kraemer's termination
By Preston Sparks
The Augusta (GA) Chronicle


Ken Kraemer had the chance to bow out at 9:57 a.m. - three minutes before
the meeting in which he was fired.

Mr. Kraemer, who was terminated as the director of Augusta Regional Airport
on Thursday, said City Attorney Jim Wall offered him the opportunity to
resign and take a severance package before Thursday's meeting.

"It wasn't officially offered to me," Mr. Kraemer said. "Was there a vote to
make that offer to me? The aviation commission can only vote in a public
meeting."

Hours later, the Augusta Aviation Commission fired Mr. Kraemer in a 5-4
vote, ending months of speculation that his job was on the line. Some
commission members said it was the right move for the airport's future, but
it led Vice Chairman Whitney O'Keeffe to call for a complete disbanding of
the commission.

"I think the city ought to get rid of this city board," said Mr. O'Keeffe,
suggesting that a private company take over. "The only thing I've seen it
accomplish is fire two directors and waste money."

The last director to be terminated was Al McDill, in April 2000. Mr. Kraemer
took the helm during summer 2001.

Thursday's firing involved a six-month severance package of nearly $60,000
because Mr. Kraemer's $115,000-a-year contract had automatically renewed.

Mr. O'Keeffe said the vote was a surprise to him and should have involved
the two board members who weren't present - Chris Cunningham and Ed
McIntyre.

"This has been a witch hunt all along," Mr. O'Keeffe said.

The vote was based on a job-performance evaluation, which included several
categories to be ranked in performance from zero to 20, Mr. O'Keeffe said.

"At least one of those forms had all zeros on it," Mr. O'Keeffe said.
"Nobody could be that bad to have all zeros on it."

Mr. Kraemer had come under fire recently for the purchase of a $31,000 Eddie
Bauer Ford Explorer without the aviation commission's approval and for his
implementation of an organizational review.

Mr. O'Keeffe said both issues were raised during a closed-session meeting.
Some commissioners also complained that Mr. Kraemer's relationship with
other city department heads and officials of the Federal Aviation
Administration wasn't satisfactory.

Mr. Kraemer said that he would consult an attorney and that he doesn't
believe the aviation commission can fire him without the Augusta
Commission's approval.

"It's my opinion that my contract was signed by the mayor," he said, adding
that the Augusta Commission approved his original contract. "I feel the same
is true in reverse."

Mr. Wall said the aviation commission can fire Mr. Kraemer. Cedric Johnson,
the aviation commission's chairman, said Leslie Johnson, Augusta Regional's
finance director, has been named interim airport director until City
Administrator George Kolb can find another interim replacement.

Mr. Johnson said the city is involved because officials want to bring in
someone from outside the airport to run things temporarily. He said filling
the position permanently wouldn't involve a lengthy process.

Voting to fire Mr. Kraemer were: Marcie Wilhelmi, Sheila Paulk, Ernie Smith,
Joe Scott and Venus Cain, who recently replaced Jimmy Drew. Mr. Drew
resigned from the commission after being accused of lying about making
illegal payments to a former North Carolina agriculture commissioner.

Those who voted against termination were: Mr. O'Keeffe, Brad Kyzer, Pat Owen
and Bernie Silverstein. Mr. Johnson did not vote, but he disagreed with
calls to disband the aviation board.

"I'm always miffed at the fact that when things don't go people's way they
want to abolish things," he said.

Mr. Silverstein said he was concerned about the meeting's date, which he
said was changed because of a scheduling conflict involving Mrs. Wilhelmi.

"A normal regular scheduled meeting, I don't believe, should ever be changed
for anybody," he said.

Mr. Smith said Thursday wasn't a happy day, "but in order to move forward,
you sometimes have to make a change."

"The decision we made today was absolutely necessary," he said.

Airport workers and tenants disagreed.

"It's very disappointing because he did so much for this airport," said Paul
Fuehrer, a tenant..

Alvin Watkins, the general manager of Prime Flight Aviation Services, which
provides the Sky Cab service and ticket checkers, also supported Mr.
Kraemer.

"They (the aviation commissioners) are the ones that should be out of a
job," Mr. Watkins said, "and the people of Augusta need to wake up and see
that."

TIMELINE

April 13, 2000: Al McDill is fired as the director of Augusta Regional
Airport, with seven commissioners voting in favor of his termination.

Aug. 1, 2001: Ken Kraemer becomes the director of Augusta Regional Airport.
One of his first tasks is to implement an organizational review to cut
unneeded airport positions.

Sept. 24, 2001: The aviation commission approves layoffs of one-third of
Augusta Regional's staff. Board members cite the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks
as the reason.

Oct. 14, 2002: The airport announces that Continental Express flights will
be coming to Augusta.

Dec. 19, 2002: The results of a called job performance evaluation on Mr.
Kraemer return a 66 percent rating, or satisfactory. He is given a $4,025
raise.

May 30: A tenant at Augusta Regional presents a petition with 102 names in
support of Mr. Kraemer. The petition is not accepted.

June: Mr. Kraemer's purchase of a $31,000 Ford Explorer draws fire from some
aviation commissioners because it didn't receive the board's approval.

June 20: Aviation Commissioner Marcie Wilhelmi publicly criticizes Mr.
Kraemer for not effectively implementing the organizational review.

Thursday: Mr. Kraemer is fired by a vote of 5-4.


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