In less than two years, Oak Grove has replaced its mayor, city administrator, building official, half its City Council and will soon hire a new accountant after firing a 12-year employee who says City Hall could not be more dysfunctional.

The mayor and selected City Council members "have been harassing and intimidating city employees for years, and I'm their third victim," said Julie Lohse, Oak Grove's longtime accountant/IT technician, who was fired last month and is now under investigation by the Anoka County sheriff and state auditor.

Lohse was dismissed in a public 3-2 council vote for allegedly increasing her pay without authorization. But Lohse says she did not increase her pay. She says she was earning the salary she agreed to in 2005, a salary that she said was never adjusted by City Council vote.

But Chantell Knauss, Oak Grove's third city administrator in less than three years, said this week that the council decided on Dec. 17 that until a market study was completed, city officials' wages would not change in 2008. Knauss said Lohse was given three separate directives not to change her salary.

On Monday, Lohse said she received a call from a county investigator -- standard procedure, said Knauss, quoting a Minnesota statute that, she said, mandates an employer "to report misuse of public funds."

But Lohse, 62, said there is no documentation of any motion or resolution by the City Council concerning wage adjustments. She said she was giving herself the salary she was paid in 2005 and 2006 before her salary was adjusted in 2007 -- to a lower base wage. But she was given two additional lump sum payments in 2007, one in January and one in July, to make up the difference.

Lohse says she would not risk her reputation, livelihood or future over $696 -- the amount, she says, that was at issue when she was fired Feb. 11.

"They messed up her wages," said Ron Sivigny, a former council member who was voted out of office two years ago.

'Council had a choice'

"The council had a choice -- to do a further investigation or get rid of her ... and they got rid of her," Sivigny said. "They've pushed out our longtime administrator and building inspector. And now they've done the same thing to her."

Lohse also said that at least two former employees who retired recently -- building official Dave Thompson and city administrator Jan Olsen -- were forced out.

"They made Jan Olsen's life miserable," Lohse said.

Couldn't sit still

Olsen, who has moved away from the Twin Cities, did not return calls from the Star Tribune. But in June 2005 she wrote a letter to the council saying: "I can no longer sit still and see many years of hard work go to waste without speaking up. There are several issues and concerns that I have regarding the direction the City Council is going."

She then wrote about a "confrontational attitude" and "constant criticism of the mayor, previous councils, employees, commissions and consultants."

This week, when Thompson was asked if he was forced to retire, he said, "I'll answer that at another time."

Paul Levy • 612-673-4419