What follows is a copy of a news article from a Maine newspaper: Portland Press Herald. If you haven’t done so already, please read last month’s post: Government Corruption: Town’s Harasment of Disabled Senior Goes Too Far!for more information regarding the series of events in the lives of just one of the families that this man has tormented.
Town Begins Investigation of Manager
Jim Thomas’ management style has led to complaints in Old Orchard Beach
By Seth Harkness;Staff Writer, Portland Press Herald York Edition March 15, 2007 copyright 2007 Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.
OLD ORCHARD BEACH_ The Old Orchard Beach Town Council voted Wednesday night to hire a lawyer to examine complaints against Town Manager Jim Thomas.The councilors did not name the employee under investigation when they voted unanimously to hire Brunswick attorney Martin Wilk “in connection with a personal matter”, and no councilors would publicly confirm the town manager was involve. But in the last six weeks the town council has held two closed door meetings to discuss personal issues, neither of which were attended by Thomas. The Old Orchard Beach town charter requires the town manager to “attend the meetings of the Town Council, except when the Manager’s removal is being considered.”
Before the meeting, Town Council Chairmen Joe Klein was asked whether the personnel matter on Wednesday night’s agenda involved Thomas. “That’s a logical deduction,” he said.
As recently as last fall, the council extended Thomas’ contract and gave him a raise. Many people also credit the town manager, a Lewiston native who was hired in 2003, with helping to improve the appearance of downtown and attracting a new wave of economic development.
However, what some describe as Thomas’ headstrong style of dealing with town employees and members of the public has credited conflict, both in Old Orchard Beach and at his previous manager’s job in Sterling, Colo.
Thomas was fired from the Colorado position in December of 2002 after four months on the job, according to Frank Gower, a city councilor in Sterling for the past nine years. “He didn’t get along with employees and it was like his way or the highway,” said Gower. “He’s a good visionary man, but I think his management style left a lot to be desired. It was a conflict type management style like I’ve never seen before.”
Some former town employees in Old Orchard Beach said they had similar experiences while working for Thomas.
Tim Braun was director of Public Works in Old Orchard for six years and is now town engineer in Gorham. Braun left his position in Old Orchard one year after Thomas arrived, he said, because he could not tolerate working with the town manager. Braun described Thomas as a temperamental boss, prone to delivering orders and threatening employees with the loss of their jobs.
“He uses the authoritarian model,” Braun said. “I was reminded that I was an employee at will. There wasn’t any mincing of words.”
Thomas did not respond to requests for an interview Wednesday.
In September of 2005 the Town Council discussed residents’ complaints that the town manager had shown a lack of respect toward individuals and a disregard for public opinion. The council took no action at that time and Thomas said that his efforts to improve the town were bound to upset some people.
One recent controversy involving Thomas occurred last week when two town councilors, Jim Long and Robin Dayton, questioned the legality of a closed-door meeting in which they said Thomas urged the council to extend a contract with Poland Spring.
Thomas also was accused of running afoul of freedom of information laws during his tenure in Colorado. In October of 2002, the Journal Advocate, a daily newspaper in Sterling, published an editorial that chastised Thomas for refusing to release a copy of minutes from a city staff meeting. The paper also criticized Thomas for a policy requiring city employees to answer questions from the press only in writing.
Despite the controversies, a majority of the Old Orchard Beach Town Council voted in October to extend Thomas’ contract through June 2008 and raise his salary to $92,000.
Contact Staff Writer Seth Harkness at 207-282-8225 or at: sharkness@pressherald.com
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Town Begins Investigation of Manager « EK’s Star Log // Sunday, March 18, 2007 at 12:32 am |
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