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Resident’s email prompts questions about town manager; council adds executive sessions on litigation and personnel
Summary
A resident presented an April 13 email apparently sent by Town Manager Ryan Ellsworth saying 'today marks my final days serving as town manager,' prompting calls for transparency. Council added an executive session to discuss pending litigation (Perrin Trigilio v. Town of Mansfield) and scheduled a personnel session on the town manager’s performance.
During the public‑comment period Aaron Bowman told the council he had obtained a copy of an April 13 email from Town Manager Ryan Ellsworth suggesting ‘‘today marks my final days serving as town manager’’ and referencing ‘‘speculation or misunderstanding.’’ Bowman said the email raises unanswered questions about why Ellsworth believed his tenure might be ending and asked the council to provide residents a timeline about the underlying proceedings to the extent permitted by law. ‘‘Public confidence in local government depends on trust,’’ he said, and asked the council to bring the matter to conclusion.
Council members responded that the letter Bowman provided had not been previously distributed to the council and that its origin was not known to staff. Later in the meeting Councilor Shakin moved, and Councilor Cotton seconded, to add an executive session to the agenda under Connecticut General Statute Section 1‑206b to discuss pending litigation identified as Perrin Trigilio v. Town of Mansfield; the motion carried without recorded opposition. The mayor then moved that, after the litigation session, the council enter a second executive session under Conn. Gen. Stat. Sec. 1‑206A to discuss the town manager’s performance. The council voted to enter both sessions and cleared the public room; recording stopped before the sessions began.
The council did not discuss the details of the allegations or the substance of the personnel matter in public. The motion to add the litigation session was made and seconded on the record; attendees were informed outside counsel (Cislak of Rose Callar) and the town manager would be invited into the litigation session.
Ending: No public findings or personnel decisions were made on the record. The council held a recorded motion to enter executive session for pending litigation and for a separate personnel discussion; details are not public while the lawful grounds for exclusion apply.
