OPINION: Regarding Recent Issues with the DPW Director

[The letter, below, was originally presented to the Town Council, orally, by former Town Council Candidate Jane Callaway. She subsequently sent it to the Observer with a request that it be published as an Opinion article.]

Citizens comments: Town Council meeting 3/6/24

I am here to speak about the recent issues with the DPW Director.

I am voicing my concerns regarding his possible reinstatement.

As a town we have to hold people, not only the elected seats but also paid employees, accountable for their actions. It is called accountability.

The DPW director knew and willingly violated the ethics that he is sworn to uphold. This makes him untrustworthy in my opinion, and I know many feel the same way. Also I leaves me wondering what other unethical things he may have done.

Why do we send our town employees to ethics class every year? What is the point of wasting the time and money if when they choose to violate it they are not held accountable and allowed to keep their job? It is actually unfair and a slap in the face to all the other town employees who choose to follow the ethics they are meant to uphold.

I feel he should not be reinstated as director or honestly at all. He lost all credibility based on his ethical violations. His salary is over $165,000 s a year. That's over 200% higher then the average town employee. So clearly he could have easily afforded those trips on his own, yet he chose to accept them and violate ethics knowing his job could be on the line.

I also feel that an independent audit should be done at the DPW and everything he was involved with from jobs it's he was on to purchases and inventory. Again, my opinion if he knowingly violated the ethics the town put in place then how do we know there are not other violations that simply have not come to light yet?

Yes, he received a $15,000 dollar fine from the state ethics board, but now it is time for the town to hold him accountable. And a temporary unpaid leave is not being held accountable.

The town administrator is responsible for town employees and the council is responsible for the town administrator. If out Town administrator chooses to bring him back then I ask the council to hold the Town Administrator accountable and take action. Accountability has disappeared in this town, and with out it, what's the point?

If we are not going to hold people accountable then spending the taxpayers money to send them to ethics classes is simply a waste of time an money.

We have allowed council members to violate rules to which they are sworn to uphold, and yet they continue to sit in their seat, nothing is ever done.

We have allowed a town employee to make a huge mistake that cost the taxpayers over a half a million dollars and still has the position they were sitting in.

Now we have this with the DPW director, this is just another incident that the people in charge can either say enough and do the right thing and bring accountability back OR Sweep it under the rug like before and forget about ethics and the right thing.

Send the message that you care about the town, the taxpayers, by holding people accountable and upholding the ethics of the position your sitting in.

Thank you,

Jane Callaway