Meadowbrook Insurance Company settled last month for $32,500 with Ron Mershon, according to Mayor Roy White. He said the city was responsible for paying a $5,000 deductible. Mershon was fired by aldermen last July for what they termed as a budgetary issue. He had been with the city for about two years. Soon after, a letter from Mershon's attorney, Joan Swartz, was sent to the city threatening a lawsuit. Board President Jim Schuchmann said the city didn't have a role in the agreement reached between the insurance company and Mershon. "It was their decision," he said referring to the insurance company. White stated the insurance company has already paid Mershon. Since the housing market has slumped in the area, aldermen have contended that the fewer number of construction inspections led to the elimination of a full-time building inspector. Earlier this week, Schuchmann reiterated that the city is working with a tight budget and the firing was related to the issue. "I didn't feel we as a city did anything wrong," he said. "I will stand by the decision made eight months ago. We couldn't afford a building inspector." At a closed session July 24, 2008, Aldermen Jim Schuchmann, Dave Walter and Angie Reynolds voted to get rid of Mershon. Alderman Richard Denkler cast the lone dissenting vote. According to the minutes kept at the meeting, White voiced his displeasure about the vote and stated he did not want to participate in the proceedings. He argued at the time that he, and not the board, had legal authority to terminate a city employee. "I asked the board to withhold from making a decision and give me 60 days to retrain him," White said. "I told them it was a big mistake and they would be liable and they were. It's not right to play with someone's job like that." When Mershon was fired, White argued that certain aldermen were going after Mershon for personal reasons. Schuchmann, however, disputes the claim. "I don't see it," Schuchmann said. "I don't agree with that. (White's) never been able to back it up." Larry Janish, the city's public works director, currently handles the inspections in the city. He also receives help from one of his assistants. According to previous reports prior to his termination, Mershon had been the subject of a police investigation for allegedly accepting a $1,500 bribe from a contractor who was working on a project for the city. Following the investigation, Mershon was cleared of any wrongdoing. A message seeking comment from Swartz was not returned.