PULLMAN, WA – The City of Pullman has settled with former City Administrator Mike Urban over the disputed ending of his employment.

Pullman Radio News received the settlement document from the city through a public records request. The document shows that the city has paid Urban nearly 220,000 dollars to settle his claims regarding his employment separation.

The dispute began in late March when Urban was placed on paid administrative leave by the city for three weeks. In mid-April Pullman Mayor Francis Benjamin publicly welcomed Urban back to work announcing that a third party investigator cleared him of all allegations. Urban was caught up in the fallout from former Police Chief Jake Opgenorth’s scandal involving his then ex-mistress Stephanie Rink.

Urban never returned to work and in early May city officials announced that he resigned. Urban denied that claim and argued that he was illegally fired. His attorney issued a statement saying that Urban wanted to negotiate his return to work to restore his reputation but no agreement was reached.

In June Urban filed claims against the city alleging numerous civil violations including unlawful discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge and intentional infliction of emotional distress and reputational harm.

In the settlement the City of Pullman also agrees to no longer claim that Urban resigned but to characterize it as an employment separation.

Chief Opgenorth was married when he was in a years long affair with Rink. Opgenorth used Urban’s name to hide messages from Rink on his phone. That deception led to Urban being placed on leave, his eventual work separation and now this settlement from the city. It was the Washington State Patrol that investigated Opgenorth when he was placed on leave last winter.

Opgenorth and Rink engaged in a public civil court battle when she claimed that he raped her multiple times. The judge dismissed the case calling the claims that Rink and Opgenorth made against each other “childish.”

The pair appear to have made amends as Rink’s social media includes several recent pictures of her with Opgenorth.