Selectmen To Deliberate On Animal Control Officer Case

By Kendra Bobowick

What happens next?

Testimony now amassed in hefty transcripts accumulated during the twice-continued, 11-hour personnel hearing for former animal control officer Carolee Mason now sits before Selectmen Paul Mangiafico and Herb Rosenthal. They must decide to affirm, alter, or reverse First Selectman Joe Borst’s decision to fire Ms Mason, a firing that became effective April 1.

“I am facing a mountain of reading,” Mr Mangiafico said this week. “It’s a tremendous amount of testimony, and I would rather read it exactly.” Beginning on May 20, continued on May 28, and concluding on June 4, the hearing saw Ms Mason, police sergeant John Cole, Human Resources Director Carole Ross, Mr Borst, state Animal Control Officer Ray Connors, and Police Chief Michael Kehoe answer questions from attorney Fred Dorsey, who represented the town, Ms Mason’s attorney Henry Murray, and from the selectmen.

“No matter what we do, it’s going to be hard,” Mr Rosenthal admitted last week after the hearing had concluded. “We’ll have to weigh all the evidence against her and weigh her testimony and why she did or didn’t do certain things and if any actions rise to the level of termination.” He and Mr Mangiafico have 15 days to reach a conclusion, and have set a meeting for Wednesday, June 17, at 3 pm in the library, just two days before the deadline.

Already thinking about the hearing last week, Mr Rosenthal had said, “I have legal questions about what happens next. We have the town’s interests and [Ms Mason’s].” What, if any, are the legal ramifications of the selectmen’s actions if they uphold or modify the first selectman’s decision, Mr Rosenthal asked.

The days of testimony had also prompted questions beyond a scrutiny of Ms Mason’s job performance as Newtown’s animal control officer. Specifically, Mr Murray and Mr Mangiafico had repeatedly asked Ms Ross and Mr Borst about personnel termination procedures. Anticipating what would be discussed in open session on June 17, Mr Rosenthal had said, “People made statements to the selectmen and we have to evaluate people who testified — that’s usually executive session when you evaluate a person’s performance…” Whether the employee is animal control or human resources, he said, “they have rights, too,” in terms of job performance evaluations. Discussing witnesses and their performance or legal matters will not be public, he said. He concluded, “Most things that interest the public will be in public; our conclusions and how we reached them.”

Mr Rosenthal also does not feel that he and Mr Mangiafico will be making decisions regarding anyone other than Ms Mason, “I think if there are issues with other employees, it’s up to their department heads … I don’t know that we’ll get into that per se, other than our reactions. If they are not conducting [jobs] properly, that’s up to their supervisor.”

Chief Kehoe had also implied last week that criminal investigations are ongoing. During the hearing he had said that he felt “[Ms Mason] violated state law.”

See the hearing testimony at www.NewtownBee.com and read archived stories reporting on each day’s hours of witness statements from May 20 and 28, and see the related story in this week’s edition offering the June 4 testimony.