TURNERS FALLS — Former Montague Police Chief Charles “Chip” Dodge asked to delay disciplinary action against him so he could pursue “discussions with a neighboring town” about a police chief job, according to recently released executive session minutes.
Dodge also originally asked for a two-year paid administrative leave as a severance arrangement, while the town suggested paid leave through November.
The closed-door meeting minutes from the evenings of Feb. 5 and Feb. 12, 2018 were released to the public Tuesday morning on the town website. Town Administrator Steve Ellis said it is unclear whether additional executive session minutes will be released, citing personnel protection rules that could prevent a public release. In all, the Selectboard met with Dodge four times over about 12 weeks to work out the terms of his resignation following an internal investigation of the department he had led for about five years.
The following sessions lasted approximately half an hour.
At this closed-door session with all Selectboard members in attendance, as well as Town Attorney Timothy Zessin, Town Administrator Steve Ellis, Dodge’s Attorney Austin Joyce and Dodge’s wife, Candace, Dodge asked to be put on paid administrative leave without authority as chief, allowing the town to begin the search for a replacement.
The town’s first offer was to pay Dodge through the end of his contract in November 2018. Dodge countered with a request to be paid for two years; a request the Selectboard did not support.
Also in this session, Dodge requested that Selectboard members delay their decision for a week because he had been discussing a potential opening for a police chief position with an undisclosed nearby town. Selectmen agreed to hold the decision for another week, but also stated that they wanted closure as soon as possible and didn’t want the matter “dragging on.”
Board members warned that if an agreement wasn’t reached by the following week (the Feb. 12 session) they would decide about his fate then.
At this meeting, Town Attorney Timothy Zessin updated Selectboard members with details regarding a potential settlement with Dodge and Dodge’s attorney.
Zessin negotiated with Dodge to compromise from the two-year paid administrative leave he originally requested. Dodge said he would be willing to resign as of Feb. 12, 2018, staying on paid administrative leave with benefits through Feb. 12, 2019.
According to the meeting minutes, Dodge’s paid administrative leave will cost the town approximately $10,000 per month.
The agreement was not signed at this meeting because Dodge’s lawyer had not yet reviewed it. Originally, Selectboard members hoped to have the agreement completed by Feb. 26 to go to the public, but Joyce was unsure whether it could be done.
Selectman Michael Nelson moved to authorize Chairman Rich Kuklewicz and Town Administrator Ellis to work with Attorney Zessin to finalize the agreement, and the motion was approved unanimously.
At the Selectboard meeting on March 5, it was revealed to the public that Dodge had agreed to resign as chief and remain on administrative leave until Feb. 12, 2018. Chris Bonnet will remain the acting chief until a permanent chief is hired.
Dodge had been under a cloud since June 2016 when Attorney General’s Office investigators arrived to look into suspicions that someone was stealing drugs from the Montague police station prescription dropbox. No charges were ever brought against anyone, but four months later, it was reported that Dodge was in recovery for opioid painkiller addiction, which may have led the state police to suspect Dodge. The same month, the Montague patrolmen and sergeants unions expressed their “lost trust and confidence” in Dodge’s ability to lead the department after he made comments to the Recorder that suggested members of his department may have stolen dropbox drugs. An internal investigation ordered by the Selectboard in November 2017 concluded that Dodge committed 18 violations of department ethics rules and policies between his handling of the dropbox and not notifying the Selectboard about his addiction treatment.
Reach Christie Wisniewski at:
cwisniewski@recorder.com
or 413-772-0261, ext. 280