Much work to do in Falls Village

It was as unusual a public meeting as you could ever imagine. Indeed, longtime observers say they’ve never seen anything like it.

As reported in last week’s Lakeville Journal, the Board of Selectmen in Falls Village held a special meeting earlier this month to discuss the negative performance evaluation of a town employee. At the request of the employee, the meeting was held in open session — a rare departure from the protocol of Connecticut’s Freedom of Information laws, which rightly permit such matters to be discussed behind closed doors. Add to that meeting the spectacle of at least 40 character witnesses for the employee and allegations of harassment and you have a recipe for controversy in a town that’s had more than its share in the past.
Transfer station attendant Norma Galaise, who is also a part-time employee of The Lakeville Journal Company, had worked at the transfer station for eight and a half years when she stopped dating her boss, transfer station operations manager Fred Palmer, in December 2006. According to Galaise, her performance reviews were largely positive until that time — an assertion that went unchallenged by the selectmen at the meeting. There were calls by Galaise’s supporters for the selectmen to "do something" about the situation. What precisely Galaise’s supporters thought the board should do about it was unclear.

To be fair to the selectmen, these are mostly uncharted waters. Statements were made in open session that could be damaging to the reputations of those involved. The threat of litigation loomed heavy in the air. The town did not have its attorney present as the selectmen fielded thorny questions with significant financial and legal ramifications.

It appears the town is caught in something of a bind. On the one hand, the selectmen evaluate the transfer station attendant. On the other hand, they spend little time there observing the goings-on. So they have to rely on the word of the manager of the facility, who, in this case, has been dating the employee in question. That’s a recipe for failure. Does the town have a policy on supervisors dating their subordinates? If not, the selectmen should direct their lawyers to draft one as soon as possible. And Galaise’s request for a written job description should prompt a top-to-bottom review of the specific duties required of all employees.

Since the meeting, there have been complaints about the minutes taken by the recording secretary who happens to be married to one of the selectmen. Questions of a conflict of interest have been raised, but it’s a difficult case to make. After all, once the minutes are presented for the selectmen’s review, all three members are free to accept them, reject them or agree on revisions.

Complaints include inaccuracies, a lack of detail, selective inclusion of facts or misquoting of speakers in the minutes. In defense of the selectmen and their secretary, those minutes contain a level of detail practically unheard of in municipal affairs. And, as we in the newspaper business are keenly aware, it is common to hear complaints about selective reporting or inaccuracies in any account of an event since human beings can make mistakes and it’s impossible to include everything that happened.

Clearly, the Falls Village Board of Selectmen has its work cut out. A review of town personnel policies is in order, as is the formulation of a fair and viable strategy to resolve this current crisis.