ROCKINGHAM — As a consequence of a water pipe in Town Hall that burst Feb. 19, John O'Connor was dismissed from his job as finance director three days later.
The pipe burst at approximately 2:50 p.m., according to minutes from the emergency meeting the Selectboard held the next day to discuss the event that nearly destroyed the town records in the Town Clerk's vault, caused extensive water damage to the third floor office, and interrupted town business for a full day of cleanup.
O'Connor, assigned to supervise town government operations at the time of the accident, “left his post,” said Rockingham Selectboard Chair Thom MacPhee.
Interim Municipal Manager Francis “Dutch” Walsh “had a medical emergency with his wife and left John in charge,” MacPhee said.
But MacPhee alleged that O'Connor “left the scene for a personal appointment,” claiming that “he heard the alarm,” yet ignored the catastrophe in progress.
“Fortunately, the staff all knew what to do. We were called and were down there within five minutes [of his leaving],” MacPhee said.
O'Connor confirmed that he had made a doctor's appointment six months before, but when Walsh asked if he would be available that Friday to cover for him, “I just forgot about it and so didn't tell him,” he recalled.
O'Connor said he did tell Town Clerk Doreen Aldrich and Bookkeeper/Accounting Assistant Nicole Gay that morning that he, too, would leave at 3 p.m.
“They knew,” he said. “We all went outside when the alarm went off. We all thought it was a false alarm. So I went to my appointment.”
That's not how Walsh saw it.
“When I asked [O'Connor] on Wednesday if he would be there all day Friday, he said yes, he would be. He walked out of the building with a fire truck in front of the building,” Walsh stated. “He didn't tell me about any doctor's appointment he had that day.”
Walsh denied speculation from the public that there may have been more to the firing than what had been reported. O'Connor confirmed there had been an issue over an invoice submitted earlier that day by Kerry Bennett, Walsh's executive assistant, “but that had nothing to do with why I left or my termination,” he said.
“I did hear Kerry mention it when I got there,” said Selectboard member Ann DiBernardo, noting she had arrived at Town Hall within minutes after the pipe burst.
DiBernardo described Bennett as “madder than a wet hen,” she said. “She said he [O'Connor] just left.”
When asked whom he consulted before firing O'Connor, Walsh said he “called the Village President and the Selectboard Chair. Both told me to go ahead and do what I thought best. There was no meeting of the boards.”
“I don't have to ask anyone. I can hire and fire any town employee at my discretion as Town Manager,” Walsh stated.
According to the minutes from the Jan. 12 Village Trustees meeting, Trustee Stefan Golec called for “a moratorium on hiring and firing and felt this should be the case now.”
But Golec's motion, approved unanimously, called for the interim municipal manager to “advise” the trustees “before a hiring or firing is done.”
Village President Roger Riccio confirmed that he was consulted by Walsh. Riccio said, “It was very rapid. I told Walsh that he would know better what was best and was better informed to make the decision. There was no meeting.”
“We'll be discussing this issue at our next meeting,” Riccio said.
When asked if there had been an issue of violating personnel confidentiality, Walsh replied, “No. It's in the paper.” O'Connor said he didn't see an issue either.
However, DiBernardo charged that “a town employee was trying to stir the pot“ in divulging O'Connor's termination to the Brattleboro Reformer and the Rutland Herald.
“It sounds like there are some really dysfunctional people in Town Hall. If we are to go forward at all, we need employees who are professional,” she said. “Whoever she is should be terminated.”
“These employees have job security. They have health insurance and good pension plans. They get good salaries. They should be completely professional,” DiBernardo continued.
In the meantime, DiBernardo said, the finance office should run smoothly despite the void created by the firing. “The support staff in the department are all capable of handling whatever comes up,” she said.
“We're consulting New England Municipal Resource Center. We'll be discussing a lot of this stuff at Town Meeting, including who will fill the finance director post,” she said.
Meanwhile, O'Connor said he wasn't considering his next career move yet.
“It was my fault,” he said, his voice tired and quiet. “I don't know what I'm going to do next. I'm still recovering.”