City council rejects job reinstatement of former city employee
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A plea for his job landed on deaf ears on Monday night.
The Bay City council made no motion and took no action on the reinstatement of Jason Ray Budaus employment with the city.
Many supporters attended a special city council meeting to show support for Budaus, a former city employee who was fired last month after a confrontation with a homeowner.
Budaus was not fired because he violated city policy by wearing a city uniform and driving a city truck when the incident occurred, said William Pendergraft, interim attorney for the City of Bay City.
“He was terminated for everything that happened after he put his daughter in a safe place,” he said.
What he did led to the involvement of a weapon, putting his brother and the general public at risk, he said.
He also failed to call the police and failed to notify management of what was going on, he explained.
“As a concerned parent, I went to do what I thought was best for my daughter,” Budaus said to the council.
Budaus was a sanitation department employee and working near his home in Doris Drive at the time of the incident in January.
Budaus said he found an unplanted tree by the side of the road and decided to take it home.
When he dropped off the tree at his house, he saw his daughter running from the street in tears.
Students from her school had been harassing her by cursing at her, throwing oranges and spitting at her, he said.
This had been the second incident of harassment, he said.
After placing his daughter inside their home, Budaus and his brother, who also works for the city, both followed the boys in a city vehicle to their home.
When he arrived at the home, he had a confrontation with the mother of the boys.
“My intention was never to do anything wrong, I just wanted to speak to the parents,” he said.
“I was there not to fight or argue and never once cursed or yelled at the lady,” he said.
A male resident at the home felt threatened and pulled a gun at Budaus.
“He was protecting his daughter. Any parent would have done the same,” said the Rev. Max Pluff, pastor of Golden Avenue Baptist Church.
“There is something out there better for me,” said Budaus after the meeting was adjourned. “I am going to go out tomorrow and look for another job.”