ORRINGTON, Maine — A group of residents upset about the firing of the town’s fire chief filled the selectmen’s meeting Monday hoping to talk to the board about the action but were shut down before the discussion began.
“There is a lot of people here in support of the fire chief,” resident Todd Bishop said in reference to Mike Spencer, who was terminated Wednesday by Town Manager Paul White. “It’s disconcerting that you are not listening to what we have to say about it. It doesn’t feel transparent.”
The town’s attorney, Edmond Bearor of Bangor, spoke at the beginning of the gathering explaining to residents why selectmen would not take public comment about the firing of Spencer, who was placed on administrative leave the week before his termination. The reason for Spencer’s firing has not been made public.
Bearor explained that Spencer has not filed an appeal to the firing, which is when the selectmen would “basically act as the grievance board.” Spencer has 10 days from the date of his firing to appeal the town manager’s decision.
Residents at the meeting expressed concern about the process for firing town employees and were directed to review the town charter and the employee handbook.
“I read the town charter, and it says the town manager can hire and fire with town select board approval,” Bishop said. “That is what is frustrating.”
Bearor said after the meeting that he has a different opinion about the town manager’s duties listed in the town charter. It does say under the title “Powers of the Town Manager” that “The Town Manager shall have authority to approve and discharge town employees, with the approval of the Board of Selectmen,” but Bearor said it is his opinion that “under a town manager form of governance … the selectmen have chosen him” to do the hiring and firing.
“What about if the members of the town disagree with any decision? Is there any recourse the town can take?” a man in the audience of around 50 asked.
“There is no recourse for you to make,” the town attorney said. “If you don’t like the way the town fathers are making decisions … use the town ballot [to replace them].”
Bearor said a fired employee can choose to have the appeal done in public, as Spencer did in the spring of 2013, when he was suspended without pay for two weeks because he allowed off-duty firefighters and others to hang out at the fire station, did not record 12 hours of sick time and drove a town vehicle to his other job.
Spencer said at the time that he informed those who gathered regularly at the fire station that they could no longer do so, that he forgot to write down the sick time and that he used the designated chief’s vehicle to go to his job at R.H. Foster so he could get back to town if there was an incident.
“The people wanted to say stuff tonight, and we still haven’t had our say,” a frustrated Bishop said after the meeting.
During the meeting, Selectmen accepted the resignations of two firefighters: Brian Cochrane, who started as a junior firefighter at the age of 17 in August 2007, and veteran firefighter Forrest Higgins. Both are leaving for personal reasons that have nothing to do with Spencer’s firing.
“He’s a great leader,” Higgins said at the end of the meeting.
Spencer, whose salary was approximately $50,000, was elected fire chief by the department’s firefighters in 2004. The next year, he combined the town’s volunteer fire and rescue departments into one municipal department and was appointed chief.