May 20, 2008

City suggests firing theater director

Palo Alto also recommends firing 1 more; Investigation cost nearly $30,000

By Kristina Peterson / Daily News Staff Writer

City officials have recommended that Palo Alto Children's Theatre director Pat Briggs be fired over her role in the theater's alleged financial irregularities, her attorney said Monday.

Briggs received a letter Friday from the city of Palo Alto that relied on a "number of grounds" to recommend her dismissal, attorney Jon Parsons said.

He said the reasons cited by the city do not include any new allegations.

"Many of the things in the letter we've all read about in the papers, but not everything we've read about in the papers ended up in this letter," he said.

Parsons noted he is still waiting to receive information from city officials to explain their conclusions. Briggs will be able to defend herself in a hearing before the city decides whether to adopt the recommended discipline.

"I am optimistic that when the actual facts are presented to the city, they will reach a decision that will not involve termination," Parsons said.

On Friday, city officials also recommended firing box office program assistant Richard Curtis and requested that costume supervisor Alison Williams return to work Tuesday.

All three employees have been on paid administrative leave since Jan. 24, when the Palo Alto Police Department briefly closed the theater to investigate alleged financial irregularities. Assistant director Michael Litfin was also placed on paid leave before he died of stomach cancer on Feb. 1.

The police department closed the criminal probe last week without filing charges.

Palo Alto Senior Deputy City Attorney Don Larkin said the administrative investigation of the three theater employees by independent investigators working out of City Manager Frank Benest's office has concluded, but more work remains to be done.

"The city manager has committed to a much broader review of how this happened and how we prevent it from happening again," Larkin said.

To date, the city has paid investigators Douglas Freifeld and David Ruben nearly $29,000, Larkin said. Benest also is talking to outside auditors, who may be brought in to help with the larger review, Larkin said.

News of Briggs' potential termination alarmed the theater community Monday.

Briggs has presided over the theater since 1961, directing more than 450 productions and writing more than 20 scripts, according to her biography on the city's Web site. In 2003, Briggs was named Woman of the Year for state Assembly District 21.

Former theater hourly employee Olivia Killingsworth said in an e-mail to council members Monday that while Curtis and Briggs should be "penalized appropriately for violating city rules and procedures" in handling the theater's finances, both should be allowed to return to work.

As a former theater employee, "I know from personal experience that its management could be, despite the best intentions, deeply dysfunctional and disorganized at times, resulting in a lot of wasted time and money," Killingsworth wrote.

But she argued that the employees never had deliberately done anything wrong and should be reinstated.

"As there is no evidence that they intended to profit personally from their misconduct and since their termination would represent a huge loss to the program, their permanent removal would be neither just nor practical," said Killingsworth, also a former theater participant now living and acting in New York City.

Paula Collins, president of the nonprofit Friends of the Palo Alto Children's Theatre, said in a statement that her organization also hopes Briggs will be reinstated.

"Pat has been the guiding force behind the Theatre's programs and a dedicated and devoted leader for over 45 years," Collins said. She said the Friends organization would continue to work with the theater's staff to ensure operations run smoothly "even without Pat's exceptional guidance."



E-mail Kristina Peterson at kpeterson@dailynewsgroup.com.