Orono will give the public a chance to weigh in next month on a proposed ordinance change that would give the town specific guidance for handling legal settlements involving discrimination and harassment.
Orono Councilor Dan Demeritt has pushed the town to change how it deals with such settlements after a six-figure one last year surprised some councilors and members of the public. Last June, Orono agreed to pay $110,000 to Avinash Rude, a former employee who filed a Maine Human Rights Commission complaint against the town.
While councilors were informed of the settlement with Rude, it was handled without their consent given the town’s ordinances and financial controls, Demeritt said last month.
Demeritt wants to see written settlement agreements of discrimination and harassment complaints against Orono, its employees, appointees or municipal officers come before the town council for approval in a public vote, according to the latest language. He thinks the council should also vote on compensation to whomever made the complaint.
After Monday’s unanimous vote to send the proposal to a hearing, residents will have a chance to voice their thoughts on March 11. The settlement involving Rude was the town’s second major one in the last seven years.
“It was surprising to me that the council did not have a formal opportunity to be heard and have the final word on a settlement of $110,000 involving the town,” Demeritt said in January, when he withdrew his proposal at a council meeting with the understanding that it would be revisited and revised.
The $110,000 for Rude and Portland-based Maine Employee Rights Group included payments from Orono’s insurer. They were structured in a way that did not meet the $5,000 expenditure threshold requiring the council’s approval, Demeritt wrote in a Jan. 4 memo to the council.
While there was debate last month about where to include the new rules, the latest draft proposes adding a section to Orono’s code of ordinances.
Among the points made in the proposal is one that calls for the town manager to schedule an executive session at the next council meeting, during which they would tell the council about any complaint alleging discrimination or harassment.
The town attorney, in consultation with the council’s chairperson, would oversee any investigation, according to the proposal. They would choose an independent party to investigate, and written findings would be shared with the council.
Updates from the attorney to the council would be handled in executive session.
Finally, the council would need to approve any written settlement agreement by public vote.
The next council meeting is scheduled for 5 p.m. March 11, in the council chambers at 59 Main St., Orono. There will be a Zoom option available.