Eastport has fired its city manager just a year after he was hired.
The Eastport City Council voted 4-1 Wednesday to fire Thomas Hoskins II effective immediately.
Hoskins’ 12-month probationary period was due to expire on Feb. 3, said William Boone president of the council.
The manager’s dismissal marks the latest example of turnover in high-level positions in Maine’s smallest city. Hoskins was Eastport’s fifth city manager since 2010, and the city’s police department has gone through nine different chiefs over the past decade.
The council discussion on whether to fire Hoskins was held in executive session prior to the vote, said Boone, who declined to comment on why the council voted to end Hoskins’ three-year contract.
Hoskins had no prior work experience in the public sector prior to becoming Eastport’s city manager, which some residents objected to at the time he was hired.
Others have criticized Hoskins over the firing of the city’s police chief last fall. The fired chief, Peter Harris, was offered his job back by the council earlier this month, after he appealed his firing to the city council. Harris, who since September has been working for the Pleasant Point Police Department, decided not to accept the reinstatement offer.
Boone said he and city councilors Jeanne Peacock, Ross Lawrence and David Oja all voted in favor of firing Hoskins, while Councilor Peter Small voted in favor of keeping him in the position.
Boone said the council will seek to fill the now-vacant city manager post on an interim basis while it readvertises the position and then interviews candidates for the job.