The fallout from The Report has begun.
Moments after releasing the second part of the investigation into harassment and discrimination in the workplace at a special meeting Friday night, Schoharie County supervisors agreed to suspend embattled Personnel Director Cassandra Ethington, with pay, pending a public hearing for calling for dismissal with cause.
It is likely the hearing will be held within 30 days.
The majority of the 56-page second report focused on the alleged transgressions by Ms. Ethington.
"When questioned about acts of discrimination, intimidation and harassment, a majority of the complaining county employees pointed to Cassandra Ethington, the personnel officer, as the problem," the report stated.
"Almost all of the health department employees described acts of intimidation by the personnel officer...
"In light of the evidence presented in the first report, one of the main focal points during the second phase of the inquiry had to be the personnel officer."
The report asserted that Ms. Ethington undermined health director Katie Strack and actively sought a managerial role in the department even before Ms. Strack's resignation.
Ms. Ethington also may have violated civil service law by arranging for the head of the Conservative Party to be hired as a lead cleaner, and made mistakes making recommendations for layoffs in the fall of 2011, according to the report.
On the layoffs, the report stated, "The evidence suggests that Ethington had developed close relationships with a small group of supervisors. It appears this group attempted to downsize county government in whatever manner they could."
The report describes Ms. Ethington's attempt to downsize the health department "despite having no competence or experience in the area of public health."
Though Ms. Ethington claimed she was an "unwilling victim of the Board of Supervisors who made her accept additional responsibilities to manage the health department," the report suggested that Ms. Ethington inserted herself into the affairs of the department long before the county attorney asked her to handle the closure of the county home health aid department.
"In fact," the report states, "the e-mails revealed that Ethington actively sought a management role within the health department even before the director's resignation."
The report continued, "in anticipation of Strack's demise" Ms. Ethington e-mailed former Middleburgh Supervisor Dennis Richards on November 1, 2010 and asked, "Since I have been doing all of this work already, I would like to be considered for the interim health department team."
The request was made despite the fact that she was not competent enough to serve in a managerial position in the Health Department because she did not posses the necessary degrees, the report stated.
"Ethington was allowed to substitute her incompetent and unlearned opinion on public health issues for that of the Director of Health's opinion," the report added.
A section of the report also describes "that Ethington...arranged for the Department of Public Works Commissioner to appoint the head of the Conservative Party, William Hanson, to a position within (the) DPW."
According to the report, Mr. Hanson e-mailed Ms. Ethington twice in March 2010 asking about a job, to which she allegedly responded that she was "working on it" and had already talked to the head of the DPW.
Two of the other people interviewed for the lead cleaner's position said the job description for the post was changed to exclude them.
"The board may wish to refer this matter to the New York State Department of Civil Service for its review and determination of whether a violation of civil service law occurred," the report stated.

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Schoharie Supervisor Gene Milone, who began the call for an investigation early last year, made the motion Friday to suspend Ms. Ethington.
"There's no question about cause. It's all there," Mr. Milone said referring to the second part of the report.
Supervisor Dan Singletary of Jefferson blasted fellow supervisors for the suspension, which he claimed would shutdown the personnel office in the county.
Ms. Ethington, he added, is an employee of the state, not the county.
He called it an "extraordinary step for a board."
Denying the taxpayers of the county this office was an "outrageous, outrageous step" for supervisors.
Mr. Singletary and Harold Vroman of Summit voted against the motions to release the second half of the report and to suspend Ms. Ethington.
Bob Mann of Blenheim, Anne Batz of Broome, and Tom Murray of Cobleskill were not at the meeting.
County attorney Mike West said the public hearing on Ms. Ethington's termination could be held within 30 days.
It would not be like a normal public hearing at which members of the public are allowed to give their opinions on a matter, he explained, but there would be a synopsis of the matter, Ms. Ethington would be allowed to speak, as would witnesses, if there were any.
In a separate matter, supervisors tabled a motion to ask current health department director Asante Shipp-Hilts for her resignation.
District attorney James Sacket spoke to supervisors about any potential legal investigation now that the report has been finished.
Any investigation would probably take several months and would be separate from the report, he added.
The investigation would be done by an outside agency and Mr. Sacket said if charges had to be filed, he would ask for a special prosecutor for any action.