PARIS — Following a short executive session Thursday, selectmen voted to appoint the town clerk as the interim town manager.
Anne Pastore was appointed to replace Town Manager Sharon Jackson, who was fired on Monday, until a new town manager is hired. Four selectmen voted in favor of the decision, with selectman Raymond Glover opposed.
Several positions that had also been held by Jackson were divided among other town employees in unanimous votes. Frank Danforth, foreman of the Highway Department, was named interim road commissioner. Deputy tax collector Elizabeth Knox was named interim tax collector. General assistance administrator Sheila Giroux was named interim welfare director. Sharon Gendreau, finance clerk and deputy treasurer, was named interim treasurer.
Glover said the chairman of the board, David Ivey, had a right to call the emergency meeting but did not give proper notice to selectmen. He said he did not receive word of the meeting until Tuesday evening.
“I want to state for the record that the process that you’ve used at this point is improper and flawed,” Glover said.
The board went into an approximately 15-minute executive session to discuss appointing Pastore after Glover said there was a need to discuss personnel records.
Jackson was fired without cause by the board in a 3-2 vote on Monday. According to her contract, the selectmen had the right to terminate Jackson without cause but must compensate her salary and benefits for a period of time proportional to the years she served as town manager. Jackson was hired by the town in December of 2004.
The three selectmen voting in favor of Jackson’s termination said they thought Jackson was taking the town in the wrong direction.
“Growth is the big thing. We want to get some business in the town,” Ivey said. “We haven’t gotten a new business in this town for so long.”
“I want our boards to be able to do the jobs they’re supposed to do,” he added.
Jackson said Monday that the town is obligated to pay her about $40,000 in compensation for the termination under the contract.
The board voted to table action on the compensation on Thursday pending consultation with the town attorney.
mlangeveld@sunjournal.com

Duke Harrington/Sun Media Wire