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Acton selectmen rescind Transfer Station job offer after state statute is raised
Summary
After a resident cited a Maine statute that may bar appointing sitting municipal officers to municipal employment, the Acton Board of Selectmen rescinded the offer to Selectman Ed Walsh for the combined Transfer Station Supervisor/Handyman role and said the appointment was an oversight; legal counsel had been consulted.
The Acton Board of Selectmen voted unanimously on Nov. 15, 2021 to rescind the Transfer Station Supervisor/Handyman job offer made to Selectman Ed Walsh after a resident raised a state law that could bar the appointment of a sitting municipal officer to a municipal position.
Town Administrator Jennifer Roux read a prepared statement on behalf of the Board outlining the recruitment: the prior Transfer Station Superintendent, Robert Mann, told the Board in August he planned to step down from the supervisor role but remain a town employee, creating a supervisory vacancy. The Board said it advertised the existing superintendent position and later combined the superintendent and handyman roles to increase hours and eligibility for health insurance. According to the statement, five applications were received (one withdrew), four candidates were interviewed and the Board narrowed the field to two finalists; Ed Walsh was one of the finalists and was offered the combined position at a public meeting on Oct. 20. The statement said Walsh gave two weeks' notice at his prior job and began working.
Resident Rollin Waterhouse presented Title 30-A, Chapter 123 Section 2606 to the Board on Nov. 10, reading in part: "No municipal officer, during the term for which that officer has been elected and for one year thereafter, may be appointed to any civil office of profit or employment position of the municipality..." The Board said it consulted town counsel and outside municipal attorneys before the Nov. 15 special meeting to discuss compliance options.
The Board described the situation as an "honest mistake" and apologized to Walsh. Selectmen Kimberly Stacey-Horn moved to rescind the offer; Selectmen David Winchell Jr. seconded and the motion passed with "all in favor." The statement said Walsh stopped working at the Transfer Station once the possible conflict was raised and that Walsh had no interest in pursuing further action. The Board outlined options that counsel identified, including uncombining the positions, limiting the hourly rate to a level below the prior superintendent while increasing hours, or seeking voter approval at a special town meeting.
The Board called on residents with information about the appointment to come forward and thanked Walsh for more than 10 years of service to the town.
