Sarasota City Auditor and Clerk Pam Nadalini rejected a severance offer from the city and was formally terminated on Wednesday.

Nadalini attorney Robert McKee said the former clerk could not comply with a request to resign because that effectively would acknowledge the city was right removing her from her workplace in December.

“While my client understands that her employment will be terminated,” McKee wrote, “… she is not prepared to execute a general release in favor of the city, especially as it related to the events which led to her being placed on administrative leave and which will precipitate the termination of her employment.”

Sarasota City Commissioners put Nadalini on leave in December after hearing a consultant’s report from Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick. The report detail an investigation into Nadalini’s management methods and said she created a hostile work environment marked by retribution. The office suffered a high turnover rate and employees have spoken out to media outlets as well as city officials.

The commission voted 4-1 earlier this month to demand Nadalini resign by the close of business on Tuesday, allowing both her severance pay and for Nadalini to delay the effective date of her resignation as late as April 15. By that point, commissioners said continuing Nadalini’s employment would create a liability for the city. Had she accepted that offer, Nadalini would not be allowed to visit City Hall but would be available for consultation with other charter officials or the city’s human resources director.

Nadalini was one of three charter officials at City Hall, along with City Manager Tom Barwin and City Attorney Robert Fournier. She has worked in the clerk’s office for 33 years, and in 2010 was promoted to the role of City Auditor and Clerk. She was the first female or black charter official in city history.

Her contract allows that even in the event she’s terminated, she will receive a severance payment equal to six months of her salary, plus accrued leave time, according to a letter from Fournier.