Residents say animal-control officer logged excessive overtime, allege neglect at Cheshire pound; council hears calls for investigation

Several Cheshire residents told the Town Council on May 13 that town records show an animal control officer logged large amounts of overtime over multiple years and that conditions at the Cheshire Town Pound deteriorated during that time.

The public comments followed disclosure, through a freedom-of-information request, of timekeeping records and e-mail correspondence involving town staff and the regional health district. “Between 2020 and 2024, [the records show an officer] claimed over 1,500 hours of overtime,” resident Jean Melendez said, adding that those entries produced “over $96,000 in additional compensation.”

Why it matters: residents said the overtime and timekeeping patterns coincide with inspections and a formal decree issued by the Connecticut Department of Agriculture that documented failures at the pound. Speakers said the town should investigate who approved the overtime and whether other oversight failures allowed care standards to lapse.

“I have therefore requested that the town also search these private accounts and provide me with these additional FOI-related emails,” Melendez said, referencing e-mails she had obtained from the health district as part of her request. Christine Cormier, another commenter, said the timekeeping entries show “systemic multi-year pattern of inflated timekeeping,” and described entries showing more than 16 hours on many days and multiple pay codes used for the same dates.

Other residents presented testimony and professional observations alleging neglect of animals under pound care. A person identifying herself as a veterinary technician described seeing animals brought in with matted fur, skin irritation and other signs of long-term poor hygiene; the speaker said she could not vouch for the underlying document’s provenance but submitted it for the council’s awareness.

Council response and next steps: Town Attorney James D'Onofrio told the council the investigation is ongoing. “The investigator is continuing with interviews and expects to be wrapped up within 3 weeks,” he said at the May 13 meeting. Mayor Peter J. Talbot and other council members acknowledged the multiple public filings residents said they had submitted to state agencies, including the attorney general and auditors, and said they would follow up.

What the council did: the session recorded extensive public comment and the town attorney’s statement that investigators were continuing interviews; the council did not take a separate, immediate personnel action at the meeting. Residents requested that the council also review approvals of overtime and whether private e-mail accounts were used for public business; speakers urged the council to demand answers from supervisors who approved the overtime entries.

Context and records: commenters said they had already provided documents to state agencies and to the council. They identified a Connecticut Department of Agriculture decree related to the pound and said they had forwarded timekeeping records from Chief Dreif (as released to them) to state investigators. The town attorney and town staff confirmed only that interviews were in progress and did not release investigative reports at the meeting.

Ending: Council members and town staff asked residents to continue to submit records to the town manager and town attorney so that the formal investigation can consider all relevant materials; town officials said they would report back when the investigative interviews conclude.