Board approves statement of support for health department, sends decorum language to committee after heated public comments

The Manchester Board of Mayor and Aldermen on Thursday approved a resolution saying the board and city do not support “personal attacks, threats, or innuendos” against city employees and expressed “complete faith and trust in Director Thomas and the outstanding employees” of the Health Department, and directed staff to draft language that would add anti-harassment and workplace-violence provisions to the board’s rules of decorum.

The item prompted more than an hour of public comment and aldermanic debate that centered on complaints about how the Health Department enforced rules against a resident who distributed homemade pickles, whether department heads should be treated as employees protected from harassment, and whether adding workplace-policy language to rules for elected officials could expose the city to litigation.

Supporters of the measures said the board needed a clear statement that the city will not tolerate harassment of public employees. “This is just saying we’re supporting our department heads,” Alderman O’Neil said during debate. Several public commenters also criticized attacks on department staff and urged protections for employees.

Opponents said the proposals blurred lines between elected officials and city employees and risked censoring…