The Cumberland County Commission has granted County Mayor Allen Foster authority to resolve a lawsuit settlement between the county and a former E-911 dispatch director. In the federal lawsuit, Mike Blackwood alleges the county and Central Communications Committee violated his constitutional rights and unlawfully terminated his employment in August 2018. He was hired as dispatch director in late 2015. Blackwood is seeking reinstatement, back pay, damages for lost benefits, punitive damages and attorney fees.