Date: Fri 21-Aug-1998

Publication: Bee

Author: ANDYG

Quick Words:

police-Lysaght-evaluation

Full Text:

Police Commission Evaluates Chief, But Won't Reveal Its Conclusions

BY ANDREW GOROSKO

Police Commission members Tuesday night met at a special closed session for

their annual evaluation of Police Chief James E. Lysaght, Jr's job

performance.

Although the Police Commission is a five-member panel, only three commission

members met to evaluate the chief's past performance and set job goals for him

for the coming year.

At the meeting were Chairman Robert Connor, Jr, Vice Chairman Carol Mattegat

and James Reilly. Commission members excused Chief Lysaght from the session,

after which he left Town Hall South and went home. Municipal employees

typically are present at their job evaluations.

Commission member William Meyer did not attend the meeting, and there is a

vacancy on the panel created by the recent resignation of Gerald Frawley.

Asked to disclose the results of Chief Lysaght's job evaluation, Mr Connor

declined to do so Thursday morning. Mr Reilly also declined to discuss the

matter. Mr Connor said Chief Lysaght and First Selectman Herbert Rosenthal

will receive copies of the chief's job evaluation.

Mr Connor said he does not plan to have any discussion of the chief's

evaluation at upcoming Police Commission meetings.

"We voted on it. It's a done deal. If the chief doesn't like it, that's his

problem," Mr Connor said.

"We're trying to do what's right for the taxpayers of Newtown," Mr Connor

said.

Mrs Mattegat declined to provide any specifics on the evaluation. Doing so

would be unfair to the chief, she said, noting that he was not present at the

evaluation and is not aware of its contents.

Mrs Mattegat declined to say whether the evaluation found the chief's job

performance to be the same, better, or worse than it was as described in the

evaluation performed on him last year. That evaluation by the Police

Commission, which was obtained by the police union through the state's Freedom

of Information process, gave the chief generally negative marks.

In a vote of confidence on the police chief conducted by the police union last

September, almost all union members who voted indicated a vote of "no

confidence" in Chief Lysaght, criticizing his management style.

Contradicting comments by Mr Connor, Mrs Mattegat said the evaluation done

Tuesday night will be discussed with Chief Lysaght at the Police Commission's

next regularly scheduled meeting September 1. In such cases, the person being

evaluated has the option of having the evaluation discussed in open or closed

session.

When asked about the results of Tuesday's night's evaluation of himself, Chief

Lysaght had no comment on the matter. He referred questions to Mr Rosenthal.

Mr Rosenthal said Wednesday he was not aware of the results. "I don't know the

details of what went on," he said.

Of the closed session at which the evaluation occurred, Mr Rosenthal said, "I

don't understand why they chose that process."

Chief Lysaght started work as head of the police department in July 1996,

after leaving his post as second-in-command of the Bristol Police Department.

He and his family moved to Newtown recently.