Board of Selectmen Meeting September 9 , 2019

Board of Selectmen Meeting September 9, 2019

Recently the Board of Selectmen received a “Whistleblower” letter from a Town employee alleging a “Hostile Work Environment” pertaining to Town Manager, Maria Capriola.

The Board of Selectmen are elected by the residents of Simsbury to review any and all allegations of misconduct brought before the Board. The taxpayers of Simsbury expect their employees to have the highest professional standards.

Under the Simsbury Town Charter, Section 401, Investigation, “The Board of Selectmen shall have the power to investigate any and all offices, boards, commissions and agencies of the Town and for such purposes shall have the power to call witnesses to appear before the Board to testify and to furnish documentation on any matter under investigation; provided, a properly constituted meeting of the Board of Selectmen may call before it any employee or officer for the purpose of information or investigation.”

The Board of Selectmen has the power to investigate these allegations to the full extent of the law and should immediately convene a meeting to provide a timeline on the investigation into these serious allegations.

When the Charter Revision Commission voted to change the Charter from a First Selectmen form of government to a professional Town Manager, the position of First Selectman was discussed in order to have an orderly transition to a professional Town Manager.

The Charter Revision Commissions findings stated:” The majority of Commissioners see the First Selectperson and Board of Selectmen as the town’s policy drivers and the First Selectperson as the spokesperson for the Town’s legislative body. “

First Selectman Eric Wellman has become an advocate for special interest groups and has continually promoted his agenda by pandering to various constituencies.

First Selectman Eric Wellman was promoting having the Rainbow crosswalk develop into a permanent installation. Wellman’s Report stated,” I asked staff to review the current crosswalk and the feasibility of making it permanent.” It is not the First Selectman’s position to interact with staff. That is not the responsibility of the First Selectman as written in the Town Charter, Section 412. “No members of the Board of Selectmen, including the First Selectman or First Selectwoman shall give orders, either publicly or privately, to any administrative officer or employee.” This is a violation of the Charter.

First Selectman Eric Wellman has given the neighbors concerned about the Solar Panels false hope that he, Eric Wellman or Town Staff has the authority to make changes to the approved site plan. It was determined that all inquires should be forwarded to the Manager of the Solar project, not First Selectman Eric Wellman or Town Staff.

Recently the Gifts of Love advocacy group came before the Board of Selectmen asking for financial support for their lack of funding through Grants and private donations.

First Selectman Eric Wellman stated that there is an “educational component” to the Eno Trust. That is incorrect.

The Eno Trust states, “On November 25, 1882 Amos Eno conveyed 140 acres of land to the Town of Simsbury, “to be used for the occupation, maintenance and support of the Town poor of Said Town and for no other purpose whatsoever, and only for so long as it shall be so occupied and used. And only for so long as the town shall care for and support its poor on the said farm without contracting them out to any person or persons for their care and maintenance shall said farm belong to said Town. When it shall cease to be so occupied, it shall revert to the Grantor or his legal representative and become part of his or their estate.”

There is no mention of an “educational component” in the Eno Trust.

Under the administration of the Town Manager Maria Capriola, there appears to be an increase in grievances from many Departments and many employees are under undue stress. Taryn Schrader’s grievance was tabled by the Personnel Sub-Committee.

Gertrude Adusei’s employment at the Library was terminated for tardiness while under Family and Medical Leave from June 3, 2019 to December 3, 2019. Gertrude Adusei was employed by the Town starting at August 12, 2005, allegedly without incident until her firing as of June 17,2019. After review, the State determined that her absences were NOT due to “willful misconduct.”

Gertrude Adusei was a Library Technical Assistant and worked in a back room at the Library. There is no mention in numerous reports of her inability to complete her work. Gertrude Adusei was paid for 4 weeks’ vacation that she accumulated prior to firing.

The pattern of tardiness was taken from her computer print-out from 3/6/2019-5/30/2019. It is alleged that 37 employees in 51/2 years have left the library.

The grievances from Sgt. Corcoran and Sgt. Trombly from the Simsbury Police Department were denied by the Police Commission and will move to mediation.