RACINE - The mayor's administrative assistant was dismissed because she didn't follow instructions and abused sick leave, not because she claimed sexual discrimination, according to city attorneys.

Sandra Tingle spread rumors about her supervisors, abused sick leave, breached confidentiality and did not adequately perform her job responsibilities, according to the city's position statement dated Friday and submitted to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. Tingle was terminated for those reasons, according to the statement, not because she filed a discrimination complaint. Tingle's last day was July 18.

The city statement is a response to a discrimination complaint filed Aug. 1 with the Department of Workforce Development's Equal Rights Division. The complaint alleges City Administrator Ben Hughes, the mayor's top aide, mistreated Tingle. The alleged sexual discrimination included asking for personal information about women in the office and harassing Tingle with bogus reprimands, according to the complaint.

Hughes asked Tingle to conduct job functions that were beyond her job description, according to the complaint.

The complaint also said Mayor Gary Becker used obscenities to refer to women.

The mayor admitted he does use profanity from time to time in his office, but he denies using profanity in public, according to the city's statement. The mayor also said Tingle frequently uses profane language and, therefore, holds the mayor to a standard of conduct which she herself chooses to ignore, according to the city's statement.

Tingle frequently referred to her supervisors in "grossly disrespectful terms" and also sent "demeaning Internet videos" to other city employees regarding Becker and Hughes, the city alleges in the statement.

These actions call into question the sincerity and credibility of Tingle's allegations, the city's statement says.

In an effort to respond to Tingle's allegations, the city hired an attorney to investigate them who found her complaints were not credible and the city had cause to terminate her.

The investigation was by Susan Love of the Milwaukee law firm Davis & Kuelthau. A Davis & Kuelthau attorney, Mark Olson, wrote the city's position statement.

But there is no conflict of interest, Olson said. Love was told to remain unbiased and she took no part in writing the city's position statement, Olson said.

If Tingle was terminated because of her discrimination complaint, that would mean the decision to terminate her would have to have come after she filed it. And Tingle's attorney, Nola Cross, has said that her client was let go after she filed a letter alleging sexual harassment.

A copy of a July 8 e-mail, sent three weeks before the complaint was filed, that tells Tingle she'll soon have her last day.

Becker writes to Tingle in the e-mail: "This Friday will be your last day in the office. The following week is to finish the Sister City website." The e-mail did not specify why she was being terminated. Another e-mail indicated the mayor gave Tingle additional time to work on the Sister City Web site and pushed back her final day.

A Jan. 14 written reprimand from Hughes to Tingle stated he shared confidential information about members of an interview committee with Tingle and she told an alderman, who she was not at liberty to disclose information to.

"Not only was this a significant betrayal of the confidential nature of your position, it was also unprofessional and inappropriate," the reprimand states.

The reprimand also said that her husband discussed the confidential information with an alderman and states, "It is also grossly inappropriate for your husband to call an alderman, or anyone else for that matter, to discuss information that you share with him from your duties within the mayor's office."

Tingle signed a memorandum of understanding of her job responsibilities in June 2003, indicating she serves in her position at the discretion of the mayor. Tingle's responsibilities were to perform "highly responsible and confidential secretarial and related administrative services," according to the memorandum.

The reprimand also states that Tingle questioned the wisdom of the mayor adding a grant administrator to the 2008 budget and talked to more than one alderman about it.

"This is yet another example of possible insubordination. It is my full expectation that no such behavior is displayed by you in the future," Hughes said in the Jan. 14 memo to Tingle.

The city's statement alleges Tingle used four hours of sick leave in February when she attended a political rally. Hughes discovered the misuse of sick leave and informed her it was inappropriate, but she also allegedly inappropriately used sick leave one time after that as well, the city's statement says. In May she allegedly used two days of sick leave while she was on vacation in Florida, according to the city's statement. Hughes knew about it because Tingle's husband, Frank Tingle, sent another city employee an e-mail stating, "She is planning on being sick on Monday and Tuesday."

While the city alleges in the position statement that Tingle was not properly performing her work functions, she alleges in her complaint that she was working in a hostile work environment.

Tingle's complaint alleges Becker had an affair with an employee, setting a tone for male supervisors.

But both the mayor and the female identified as having the affair deny that they had an affair, the city's statement says. The woman was not identified in the city's statement nor Tingle's complaint. The female employee and her husband are close personal friends with Becker and his wife, the city's position statement said.

Also in her complaint, Tingle alleged Hughes sat "uncomfortably close" to her at Henry & Wanda's and bought drinks for her. He allegedly talked about personal matters, particularly that he was seeking someone to date, according to Tingle's discrimination complaint.

But according to the city's statement, Hughes alleges he bought a round of drinks for people at Henry & Wanda's, 501 Sixth St., and he never bought a drink solely for Tingle. Also, because it was a crowded bar, the patrons sat close together, but Hughes said he never sat alone with Tingle, according to the city's statement. The statement says on one occasion Tingle pointed out a woman who she said "was going to be the mayor's next mistress." Hughes found the comment inappropriate and, according to the city's statement, he never returned to Henry & Wanda's for Friday night gatherings.

As of early Friday afternoon, Cross, Tingle's attorney, said she had not yet received a copy of the city's statement.

Because she had not seen the statement, Cross said she could not comment, but was not surprised the city denied Tingle's allegations.

"If they don't say that, there is no reason for them to submit anything," Cross said.

Next, Cross could file a response to the city's position statement, Olson said.

If Cross does not do so, the Equal Rights Division Administrative Law Judge will make a finding on whether there is probable cause to believe that some form of discrimination occurred, said City Attorney Rob Weber. It usually takes a minimum of two months.

Either party can then appeal for a hearing. If the finding is no probable cause and Tingle appeals, it is set for a hearing on the issue of probable cause. If the judge finds probable cause to believe some form of discrimination occurred, the city will appeal the decision, Weber said. Then the matter will be sent on for a hearing on the merits of the case.

The Journal Times has requested Tingle's personnel file under the Wisconsin Open Records Law and is awaiting a response.