Board of Selectmen Meeting September 23,2019
The Board of Selectmen has received a letter questioning the objectivity of Town Manager Maria Capriola detailing allegations supporting the position.
There have been several Union Complaints filed with the Union and copied to Town Manager, Maria Capriola. These complaints are available under the Freedom of Information Act, available to the public and the Board of Selectmen.
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A Manager can lead by Trust, Respect or Fear leading to abuse of power.
When there are allegations of abuse of power against the Town Manager, the Board of Selectmen should take notice. The Board of Selectmen is given the authority to hire and terminate a Town Manager.
Find out what's happening in Simsburyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Town Manager Maria Capriola has initiated an Internal Investigation with the Town Labor Attorney interrogating Town staff for hours. It is alleged that the Internal Investigation is complete.
It is alleged that the Labor Attorney was not interested in fact finding but used intimidation in his interrogating of staff.
All Internal Investigations are available under the Freedom of Information Act.
A Conditional Offer of Employment was given to the Code Compliance Officer who was employed by the Town of Mansfield. This is a full time, non-exempt position with a thirty-five (35) hour work week including a one-hour unpaid lunch.
The employee will accrue vacation at a rate of (1.25) days for each month of service.
The Code Compliance Officer started employment on April 16, 2019 at Step 4 with 3 weeks’ vacation and is no longer an employee of the Town but will start employment at another job on September30, 2019.
The Board of Selectmen should initiate their own investigation into the allegations set fourth in the Union complaints. Our Town employees should not be subjected to a Toxic work environment.
Recently Chief Boulter gave both Sgt. Trombly and Sgt. Corcoran Reprimands “for neglect of duty, intimidation, lack of thoughtfulness and attentiveness to your duties and failure to adequately perform your duties,” Both officers have over 10 years of experience without any disciplinary action and have the confidence of their fellow officers. Both these Officers were on the Midnight Shift without any issues. Many of the Officers are alleging that this is retaliatory for questioning authority.
Both Grievances are presently in arbitration.
It is alleged that Chief Boulter has initiated International Investigations on both Sgt. Trombly and Sgt. Corcoran.
Sgt. Trombly has been suspended with pay possibly leading to termination.
All Internal Investigations, when completed are public information.
On September 18, 2019 I filed a Freedom of Information Complaint with Chief Boulter to review all Internal Investigations from January 2019 to the present.
It is alleged that Mark Rustic, Supervisor of Building and Grounds has been out on Medical Leave since August 16, 2019. It is alleged it was alcohol or drug related.
The Board of Finance recently received a request from the Simsbury Performing Arts Center (PAC) for an appropriation of $100,000 for a fence surrounding the Simsbury Meadows Park.
The submission states: “Staff is requesting an additional appropriation of $!00,000 for fencing at the Bandshell. This project was included in FY20/21 of the six-year CNR plan. This year staff has received numerous concerns from the public and the PAC regarding safety, security, and aesthetics issues related to the temporary fencing installed annually. If we were able to make funds available now for FY 19/20, we would be able to construct the permanent fence in advance of the PAC; s 2020 season and alleviate the fencing issue approximately one year ahead of schedule.”.
This appears to be a “SWEETHEART” deal between Town Manager Maria Capriola and Missy DiNunno, the manager of the PAC.
The PAC is a private organization using our park and should not use taxpayer money to erect a permanent fence to control the collection of money for PAC events.
Simsbury would be the first Town that installs a permanent fence around a Public Park. Linda Schofield is a member of the Board of Finance and is President of the PAC. There was no discussion about approving the use of funds being used that was not budgeted which is against their concerns. Lesser requests for funding have been rejected, Giving $100,000 to a private organization, the PAC, without any discussion appears to be suspect.
The Board of Selectmen should reject the request from the PAC and remove the ugly green fencing around the Simsbury Meadows Parks. If the PAC cannot control the entrance, they should look for another property that meets their needs.
The Recreation Department has initiated a Master Plan Survey for Simsbury Farms. What was omitted from the Survey was the Golf Course. With a loss of $495,292 in revenue from the Simsbury Farms Special Revenue Fund, why isn’t the Golf Course part of the discussion? Pickleball Courts should be included in the discussion.