A city councilor’s accusations against Bangor’s former finance director cost the city nearly $100,000 in severance pay and fees for an investigation that found no evidence of wrongdoing.
David Little, the city’s former finance director, resigned in May, five days after City Councilor Joe Leonard accused Little during a public meeting of lying and misallocating resources.
The city paid Little $80,916, equal to seven and a half months of salary, as part of a separation agreement wherein Little agreed not to sue the city over the accusations, according to documents obtained by the Bangor Daily News through a Freedom of Access Act request.
Bangor also paid $9,641 for law firm Rudman Winchell to investigate Leonard’s claims, invoices revealed.
The documents provide closure from a weekslong investigation spurred by Leonard’s comments and raise questions about what punishment he’ll face, if any. Other city councilors have called the comments inappropriate and debated ways to reprimand him, with some saying they wanted to wait until the investigation concluded before taking action.
At the meeting in May, Leonard accused Little of not contracting with a company that answered a request for proposal another city department issued because Little didn’t like the bidder.
“What is going on in the finance department?” Leonard said. “I have massive, massive concerns with this department and I think it needs a massive, massive overhaul.”
Little cited Leonard’s comments in his resignation letter, calling them an “unjust personal attack.” Leonard apologized in a later City Council meeting.
In contrast to Leonard’s claims, Rudman Winchell’s investigation found that “the Finance Department has been administering RFPs as uniformly and fairly as reasonably possible.” It also found that Little reissued a request for proposal for good cause, and not because he didn’t like the bidder.
Leonard did not cooperate with the investigation, and declined to participate in an interview or provide details that explained his concerns about the finance department, according to the investigation report and emails obtained through the BDN’s Freedom of Access Act request.
Leonard declined to comment for this story.
The payment tied to Little’s separation agreement came out of the finance department operating budget, while the money for the investigation came from the city manager’s office operating budget, according to City Manager Carollynn Lear.
City Council is set to vote Monday on whether to censure Leonard for “inappropriate public remarks,” according to a meeting agenda. A censure is a formal statement of disapproval but does not carry any other punishment besides the public statement.
The censure order states that Leonard’s comments “deprived a City employee the right to have complaints conducted confidentially under state law” and that he “acted outside the scope of his authority as a City Councilor.”
Leonard was previously censured for comments he made the same day he was sworn into office in November 2023 about fellow incoming councilors.
Following Leonard’s outburst in May, the other city councilors debated for weeks whether to punish him, the BDN previously reported. A majority of the councilors agreed that his comments were inappropriate, with one calling them “unprofessional and totally out of bounds.”
At the time, some councilors privately raised ideas including stripping Leonard of his voting and speaking privileges and removing him from his committee assignments.
It’s unclear whether the council will take any additional action after the censure vote on Monday.
Council Chair Cara Pelletier was unavailable for comment. Councilor Michael Beck, who previously said he wouldn’t weigh in on whether to punish Leonard until the investigation concluded, declined to comment before Monday’s meeting.
Little’s last day with the city was in July, and Bangor still has not hired a new finance director to take his place.
A posting for the position first added to the city’s website on May 28 lists a salary range between $110,011 and $147,763.