WALDOBORO, Maine — A petition asking for the removal of the town manager was presented Tuesday night to the board of selectmen.
Board Chairman Clinton Collamore said Wednesday the board held a closed-door session later that evening to begin the annual evaluation of Town Manager Linda Jean Briggs. He said no action was taken after the session but selectmen agreed the evaluation form being used was not adequate.
He said the board may seek the assistance of an outside human resources manager to help with the evaluation.
Collamore said he has only been on the board a few months and really has not gotten to know the manager well enough to comment on her performance.
Katie Winchenbach, who presented the petition to the board, said one of the main reasons residents want Briggs gone is because of the way she deals with the public.
“She has no people skills,” Winchenbach said.
The Waldoboro woman also said the town manager has not been treating the longtime town clerk with respect and that has offended many residents.
The petition contained 71 signatures. Winchenbach said the effort to collect signatures only began last week when residents learned that the selectmen were going to conduct an evaluation at the Tuesday night meeting. She said the recent snowstorms have slowed the effort to gather more signatures.
Waldoboro has a population of 5,075 as of the 2010 U.S. Census.
Briggs said Wednesday that she expects to serve out her contract and would welcome an extension.
“I was hired to serve the entire community of Waldoboro and I intend to do that to the best of my ability,” she said.
Briggs was hired by Waldoboro in March 2014. Her contract runs through March 2016. Briggs came to Waldoboro after reaching a separation agreement in October 2013 with the town council in Dexter where she had served as town manager for two years. That separation agreement paid Briggs six months severance since her contract was to run to July 1, 2014.
Dexter Town Council Chairman Peter Haskell told the BDN in October 2013 that the council and Briggs often butted heads.