NORTHFIELD — The Northfield Selectboard denied “any and all allegations” that Police Chief Robert Leighton made in an open meeting law complaint earlier this month.
Leighton was upset about a discussion at the Selectboard’s May 29 meeting regarding Town Administrator Bernie Kubiak’s proposal that the town buy back Leighton’s 433 hours of unused vacation time for $20,322. During the discussion, Selectman Alex Meisner questioned Leighton about the department’s work schedule and the chief’s own weekly schedule.
“What hours on patrol do you actually work right now?” Meisner asked at that meeting. “Because I’ve had a couple complaints actually from people in the town who have been asking me … they’re just concerned, and they would like to know what hours you’re working … It would be nice for the town to know on the record here, just what your hours are.”
In his letter of complaint, Leighton said that, per the open meeting law, these topics should have been indicated on the agenda for the meeting. He also alleged that Meisner had accused him of working less than his required 40 hours per week, which, Leighton wrote, constituted slander. Leighton later declined to clarify how or why he interpreted Meisner’s question to be improper.
“I consider his remarks to be an attack on my integrity, reputation, and a questioning of my character in public,” Leighton wrote in his complaint.
He also wrote that such topics were unsuitable for an open meeting, and should have been discussed in a closed door meeting instead. During the May 29 meeting, however, Leighton did not say anything to that effect.
Meisner read a letter of response at the Selectboard’s June 12 meeting, saying that he had not slandered Leighton, and that the questions he had asked were relevant to the topic at hand and related to “basic departmental procedure.”
At the Selectboard’s meeting on Tuesday, Chairwoman Tracy Rogers read a letter prepared by town counsel that dismissed Leighton’s allegations that the May 29 conversation had improperly veered into personal matters.
“It is the board’s position that the discussion at the meeting related to the matters of hiring a reserve police officer and the buyback of your unused vacation time,” Rogers read. “At no time was it the board’s intent to discuss your job performance during the meeting.”
Leighton was not available to comment on the Selectboard’s response.
After the Selectboard agreed that the letter adequately expressed the board’s position, Rogers added that complaints against town employees should be brought to the town administrator, and should only be brought to the Selectboard if the town administrator’s response is inadequate.
“I would hope that we would be professional and courteous to our employees, to our other committee members, to our residents,” Rogers said. “This town spends a lot of energy on distrust and tearing each other down. It makes it difficult to be a selectman. It makes it difficult to work here. I hope going forward that will change.”