Ellsworth’s probe into a city councilor’s conduct toward city staff cost the city nearly $20,000.
The city paid more than $16,838 in legal costs, close to $2,000 for a third-party investigator — who produced a 176-page ethics report that led to Councilor Steven O’Halloran’s official sanction in mid-May — and about $586 in staff time, amounting to $19,404, according to Deputy City Manager Sara Devlin.
The revelation is the latest development in a monthslong dispute between O’Halloran and several city staff and councilors, which came to a head over the spring when O’Halloran was censured over his alleged bullying of city employees. Since then, a movement to recall five of the councilors who voted to sanction O’Halloran has been in motion. The recall petitioners — all Ellsworth residents — have until Thursday to collect about 400 signatures more per councilor.
The $19,000 figure, disclosed during a Finance Committee meeting Tuesday, is the first time the city has released the full cost associated with the O’Halloran investigation, which was initiated after more than a year of what city employees described as unprofessional conduct. City Manager Charles Pearce had previously released the independent investigator Edgewater Reliance’s bill, but had not disclosed the legal fees and labor costs that resulted from the matter.
O’Halloran has admitted to conducting a self-appointed investigation during which he visited an employee’s home and photographed their license plate to determine whether the staffer had two city-owned vehicles. He has repeatedly criticized city officials and has suggested the city’s procurement process “lacked integrity.”
“As discussed during the public meeting, the City was required to respond to the complaint, retain an independent investigator, obtain legal guidance throughout the process and fulfill its obligations under the City Charter and Council Code of Conduct,” Amy Kenney, a city spokesperson, told the Bangor Daily News on Tuesday. “The City recognizes the significance of these costs and remains committed to administering its Charter, policies, and Code of Conduct in a fair, thorough, and legally appropriate manner.”
Tim Pease, a partner at Bangor-based Rudman Winchell, is the city’s contracted attorney.
The council only released a redacted summary of the investigation in order to protect the anonymity of city employees who spoke with the investigator, at least one of whom was “seeking no contact” with O’Halloran and another who was weighing escalating the matter to the court system.
The roughly $19,000 figure does not account for legal costs incurred from executive sessions related to O’Halloran’s conduct that were held prior to the investigation, Devlin said during Tuesday’s meeting.
“I believe Mr and Mrs Ellsworth should see the entire 176 page report instead of only a 4 page summary,” O’Halloran told the BDN on Tuesday, using a term he favors for referring to Ellsworth taxpayers. “Why so many City Hall secrets? Why would secret City Hall report a cost of approximately $2,000.00 on May 27th, then on June 13 report a cost of approximately $20,000.00? That is a 900% difference!!!! And management is annoyed with my questions? This is exactly the reason that I have to go digging for answers because I never know what’s coming out of the propaganda machine at secret City Hall.”
Correction: An earlier version of this report misstated the deadline for recall petitioners to submit signatures.