Miranda Hinkley of Otisfield
MECHANIC FALLS — Police Chief Jeff Goss escorted Town Clerk Miranda Hinkley from the Municipal Building on Monday morning after she arrived to begin serving out her two-week notice, according to a text message she sent to the Sun Journal.
She submitted her letter of resignation Thursday to interim Town Manager Fred Collins, saying she would work her two-week notice.
“Fred told me that the lawyer (for the town) didn’t think it’s a good idea for me to work out my notice,” Hinkley of Otisfield wrote in the text.
“No councilors were present. No reason given,” she wrote.
“I was told I’m being paid out my two weeks and they have the right to opt out of me actually performing the two weeks,” Hinkley wrote.
Collins did not respond to multiple phone calls seeking comment.
Hinkley emailed her resignation to Collins three days after the Town Council voted 4-1 to dismiss Town Manager Zakk Maher of Poland. He was 10 months into his four-year contract. Two councilors said Maher was “not a good fit” for the town.
Collins, the town’s code enforcement officer, was immediately named interim town manager.
“It seems as though there are some people who make decisions for the town that are not a good fit for where I want to be in life and with whom I would not want my name associated,” Hinkley wrote in her resignation letter.
Despite her misgivings, she told town officials she was willing to work for two weeks to help wrap loose ends and provide information to the remaining employees.
Hinkley took the clerk’s job in July 2016.
Deputy Town Clerk Julie Ward will perform the clerk’s duties until a successor is hired.
The Town Council will hold a special public meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday at the Municipal Building to discuss hiring of a town manager and to officially appoint an interim town manager, according to the town website.
Members of the public will be allowed to comment at the discretion of Chairwoman Cathy Fifield.
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