GraniteGrok

Exit...

The story of the firing of the Town Administrator here in the 'Grok's hometown seems to have attracted statewide attention. With that in mind, I am posting the following piece with a bit of the backround information for those who might be interested. [Cross-posted at GilfordGrok. Other posts here and here. Excellent Laconia Daily Sun reporting by Michael Kitch here.]

As the fallout from the termination of Town Administrator Juris' employment continues, you should keep several things in mind...

The Town Administrator does, in fact work FOR the Selectmen, not the other way around. The official job description states that the Town Administrator

Serves, at the pleasure of the Board of Selectmen, as the chief administrative officer of the town. Responsible for carrying out the duties and responsibilities assigned by the Board of Selectmen.

It continues to provide that the Administrator

Establishes effective working relationships with all town boards, commissions, committees, and departments.

Last Friday, Town Administrator Juris, in a letter on official town stationary sent to the BOS and released to the media, declared

"a hostile work environment, along with discriminatory and threatening behavior by Selectman Gus Benavides."

After laying out a list of grievances, many of which appear to be rather petty and of the nature of what reasonable people would think "go with the territory," the Town Administrator's letter thus closed:

"In the event that the Board wants to resolve the matter, please let me know so that I can attend the meeting with counsel."

Translation: "Have your lawyers contact mine." As one can see, this type of situation completely flies in the face of the job duties listed above, and represents a fatal flaw in the relationship between the Administrator and the BOS. When two parties communicate via lawyers, there is no "effective working relationship."

Beyond that, the official job description states the Town Administrator

Coordinates and administers all Town legal matters. Assists Town Counsel with the collection and review of material for preparation in legal matters. Recommends, with the advice and consent of Town Counsel, legal strategies for approval by the Board of Selectmen.

As you can see, because the legal matter exists between the Administrator and the Board, the conflicts of interest are impossible to resolve. This effectively prevents the Administrator from fulfilling his duties to the Selectmen here, too, creating yet another fatal flaw in the relationship.

In this instance, the Board of Selectmen exercised the only option that made any sense when considering what was best for the town, which is their duty. Nobody could possibly claim that in the existing situation, fatally flawed as it was, anything positive could get accomplished. As a citizen and taxpayer, I don't want to see a situation like we had brewing fester and drag on. I pay taxes and expect them to be used to fulfill the duties required of the municipality by law. A nasty and poisoned relationship between our elected representatives and the person charged with operating the town in no way satisfies that mandate.

Section 15 of the Employment Agreement Between the Town of Gilford, NH and the Town Administrator holds

The Town shall defend, save harmless and indemnify the Town Administrator against any tort, professional liability claims, or demands or other legal action, whether groundless or otherwise, arising out of performance of the duties as Town Administrator. The Town will compromise and settle any such claims or suit and pay the amount of any settlement or judgement...

In other words, we, the taxpayers of Gilford, are on the hook to pay the legal expenses of BOTH sides in this matter. How is that beneficial to Gilford?

Two of the three Selectmen, led by Connie Grant, demonstrated courage and leadership on this matter that is rare in today's political world-- risking intense criticism and blowback from supporters of a powerful, long-time town administrator and actually doing the right thing...