We, the undersigned residents of Millinocket over the age of 18 who has not previously signed the paper version of this Petition, hereby declare a lack of confidence in the Town Manager, Town Attorney and Chief of Police and respectfully request the Town Council take the following actions without delay:
1. Through a competitive bidding process, contract all current and future legal services with a new State of Maine licensed attorney transferring all records to the new attorney as outlined in the Town Charter.
2. Remove the Town Manager from his position and all ancillary duties filling the position(s) on an interium basis until such time as an appropriate replacement can be found.
3. Place the Chief of Police on administrative leave immediatelly and until such time current grievances and legal matters are resolved. Any further delay in taking this action will leave the Town and it's taxpayers subject to further financial and legal exposure.
4. Officially place the Deputy Chief on paid administrative leave paying all back pay due her and continue paying her wages until such time current grievances and legal matters are resolved.
Based on the background described below, this Petition is asking for the Removal and Replacement of the Police Chief, Town Manager and Town Attorney and put the Deputy Chief on paid leave since she has been out unpaid since Feb. 3.
As a result of numerous grievances filed against Millinocket Police Chief Craig Worster by Millinocket Police Officers, a group of concerned Millinocket Citizens have begun circulating a petition asking for the removal and replacement of the Town Attorney and Town Manager. The petition outlines the failure on the part of the Town Attorney and the Town Manager to respond to requests from the Union Rep, Lorne Smith who has been vocal about the lack of town leadership in resolving employee grievances.
Additionally, the petition calls for placing the Police Chief on Administrative Leave until such time as the pending disputes are resolved. The Deputy Chief, Janet Theriault has been out unpaid since Feb 3rd and subsequently filed an 85-page workplace harassment grievance with the Union against the Chief while the Police Chief has remained on the job. Over the last several months, the Millinocket Community has rallied in support of Deputy Chief Theriault, a 16-year veteran of the police force, crowd sourcing funds to help offset her loss of pay which the community hopes will be paid retroactively.
