Town and city managers may serve at the whim and will of elected bodies, but officials who fire them too quickly or secretly will pay a price.

That was the clear message coming out of 2009, which saw three appointed managers suddenly canned, followed by months of grief for the elected officials who did the canning.

Nowhere was that more dramatically revealed than Paris, where a 3-2 vote in June terminated former Town Manager Sharon Jackson’s contract. Residents quickly accused the majority of deliberating in secret and acting without allowing citizen input.

The issue became a six-month distraction for the board, divided the community and ultimately resulted in a heated recall election.

In the end, two of the selectmen who fired Jackson were themselves fired by voters, and decisively so. The pair, selectmen David Ivey and Troy Ripley, lost their recall contests by 90 and 86 percent margins, respectively — a thrashing by any measure.

The two selectmen who voted in June against firing Jackson were also subject to a recall vote, but voters retained them by similarly decisive margins.

Now the town is embroiled in a lawsuit filed by the previous manager.

Lewiston city councilors got the urge to fire their manager in July, shocking a room full of spectators and staff. Councilors voted 5-2 to buy out Jim Bennett’s contract, paying him a full year of salary and benefits.

A minor community uprising ensued, culminating in a large public meeting where citizens vented their anger and frustration. Bennett’s firing capped what many thought of as eight years of steady progress and development for the city, and left many in the community bitter and suspicious of the sitting council.

While the five voting to terminate Bennett said they wanted a new direction for the city, two of them chose not to run for re-election and are now off the council. Another was defeated in his bid for re-election.

More importantly, the council accomplished little between Bennett’s firing and the end of the year.

Similar problems developed in Sabattus, where a 3-2 vote forced out Town Manager Gregory Gill in September. Many residents expressed their displeasure at the way the firing was seemingly negotiated behind closed doors, and the action has resulted in legislation meant to curb the use of e-mail decision-making among elected officials.

There are two lessons other elected boards should draw from these contentious firings.

First, while a board or council may have the power and legal right to suddenly fire a manager, it’s a right that is best exercised with caution.

Like a private-sector termination, elected officials need to build a case with the public that a manager truly deserves to be fired. A surprise firing can easily backfire.

Second, a way must be found to balance the privacy rights of an employee with the public’s right to know. All three of the terminations over the past year were tainted by the appearance of shady, closed-door discussions.

Managers are servants of their elected masters. But the public believes even servants should be treated fairly.

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