DELRAY BEACH, Fla. — Fired Delray Beach City Manager George Gretsas is suing the city, claiming he was wrongly dismissed from his position for political reasons.
A lawsuit, filed Thursday and obtained by Contact 5, claims city commissioners fired Gretsas after he refused "to give political cover to the mayor and commissioners" over water quality issues and "corrupt activities."
Commissioners voted 3-2 to fire him with cause in November 2020 for what the lawsuit calls "phony complaints" and "baseless" charges.
An outside investigation found Gretsas allegedly violated city policy for bullying and retaliation against an assistant city manager.
The city's internal auditor also leveled several allegations against Gretsas, including claims of misconduct.
The lawsuit claims Gretsas is entitled to 20 weeks of severance pay because he wasn't fired for just cause as "certain municipal regulations asserted to have violated were later determined not to be applicable to the city manager."
Gretsas, who was Delray Beach's sixth city manager since 2013, has called the allegation of harassment "a work of fiction."
A spokesperson for Delray Beach told Contact 5 that the city does not comment on pending litigation.