New Hartford first selectman under fire

NEW HARTFORD — In the conference room at Town Hall, First Selectman Earl MacInnes sat, arms folded, rocking in his chair at the head of the table, lips pursed.

The meeting had been called to give MacInnes the opportunity to explain how two contracts were signed by the first selectman without the knowledge of the Board of Selectmen, Board of Finance or legal counsel.

Joining MacInnes at the table for the 10 a.m. meeting Monday, April 27, were selectmen William Marchand and Phyllis Webb, Board of Finance members Thomas Klebart and Jim Fitzgerald, administrative assistant Christine Hayward, Town Treasurer Blake Hall and Town Attorney Chip Roraback.

Nearly a dozen members of the community were also in attendance at the special meeting, in which MacInnes responded “nopeâ€� and “I have no commentâ€� numerous times.  

In mid-April, while MacInnes was out of town on personal business, two contracts surfaced that were negotiated and signed solely by the first selectman.

The first was a lease agreement for Brodie House, a residential structure on the Brodie Park property whose structural integrity has been questioned in the past. The lease agreement allowed town employee Don Birden and his family to reside in Brodie House for a period of three years at $400 per month. As part of the agreement, Birden would act as a caretaker of the house and grounds, working to repair the house, with the town picking up the tab for materials.

The second contract was an employment agreement between Highway Superintendent Dan LeGeyt and MacInnes in which the public works director would earn 20 weeks of vacation for previously uncompensated overtime. The agreement also included a clause allowing LeGeyt to accumulate vacation time for overtime hours worked. His previous employment agreement did not allow compensation for overtime work, since LeGeyt is a salaried employee of the town of New Hartford. From the time of signature, the agreement created a $28,000  unfunded debt to the town for the back vacation pay, since the contract’s terms had not been included in the recently drafted budget.

“I am so frustrated at this point,� said Phyllis Webb on Tuesday. “These contracts were executed inappropriately, not in the best interests of the town, and will cost the town. I am insulted that we haven’t had the courtesy, as a member of the board of selectmen, for [MacInnes] to sit down and talk to us and let us know what he was thinking and share his thoughts so we can move forward.�

During the meeting, several questions raised had to do with how the deals initially took place, who wrote the contracts and the proper way in which the town should act now that the contracts have been found by the town attorney to be illegal and unenforceable.

And while most agreed that the contracts were prepared irresponsibly, MacInnes said he had nothing to gain from the contracts and he would like to order a forensic audit to prove that no financial gains were made for him or for the town.

“It was suggested at a meeting that I wasn’t at that there was a misappropriation of funds,� said MacInnes. However, no one present could recall these accusations being made, with all shaking their heads and asking questions about the statement to one another.

“The problem is more credibility,� said Blake Hall. “It’s not that you took money.�

“If this is a concern by anyone then we should do [the audit],� said MacInnes.

After several questions continued to go unanswered, Jim Fitzerald said, “I wish this was a town meeting. I would love to see a motion made for this gentleman to resign from his position in this town.�

At 11:15, the Board of Selectmen entered into executive session with MacInnes. Two members of the Board of Finance, the town’s attorney
and town’s treasurer were also
invited into the session. As quickly as the door closed, MacInnes
walked out of the meeting, refusing to participate.

“Actions speak louder than words,� said Webb. “We went into executive session in good faith, in hopes to try to get a better opportunity to get answers for our questions.� Webb said she could not comment on what was said in executive session, but said she was well aware that most saw MacInnes leave the room.

“It’s really unfortunate, I have to say,� said Webb. “We have two people who have engaged in contracts with the first selectman. Our attorney has said these contracts are not legally binding and we need to move forward and be sensitive to the two people who are involved.

“We are going to try to set another meeting,� said Webb. “We have to move forward. We are going to try to be responsible. We would like to do this as a full board, but if not we will have to act as a majority.�