Charles Montoya, former Avondale city manager/City of Avondale
By Maritza Dominguez | Arizona Republic
The Avondale City Council has asked the Arizona Attorney General’s Office and its own attorneys to investigate the issues surrounding the city manager it fired in December.
City Attorney Nicholle Harris would not elaborate on the scope of the internal examination.
The AG’s Office did not respond to The Arizona Republic’s queries about the city’s request to investigate, but Mayor Kenn Weise said they asked the AG to look into issues that led to Charles Montoya’s firing.
Weise said he wants to give the AG open access. “I want them to investigate what they feel they need to, and I don’t want to put any constraints on what they’re doing,” Weise said.
The Republic was unable to reach Montoya for comment.
In December, Weise listed five reasons for firing Montoya, ranging from financial concerns to living outside the city as required by the city charter. The letter of termination noted the city also was investigating whether Montoya may have violated other portions of his employment agreement.
Documents obtained by The Republic under the Arizona Public Records Law shed more light on those reasons.
Going about tuition reimbursement wrong
Documents show Montoya received more tuition reimbursement than allowed and that he went about getting it incorrectly.
