ROCKLAND, Maine — The drama around city personnel took another turn Friday when City Manager James Chaousis fired the harbor master just days before his Feb. 1 retirement
Chaousis would not reveal the reason for terminating Ed Glaser’s employment so near to the harbor master’s retirement. He said Glaser has filed an appeal of the firing. Disciplinary actions of municipal employees are confidential until a final written decision has been made and appeals are exhausted.
A phone message left for Glaser on Friday was not immediately returned.
The firing comes after Chaousis seized and inspected the harbor master’s city-supplied computer and cell phone late last week. The city manager acknowledged this week he was investigating multiple employees.
While he has not identified the employees under investigation, the manager shared a memo with city councilors two weeks ago critical of City Attorney Kevin Beal.
“Often, there is a disconnect between communications coming from the City Council, City Manager, and the City Attorney,” Chaousis said in his Dec. 23 memo. “This also appears to be a repeated pattern of behavior from the Legal Department in which the City Council has offered guidance. It does not appear that this guidance has had an effect. It is clear that the City has deviated from the path written in the Rockland Charter and Code and I intend to bring that direction back through this order, new protocols, and reporting systems.”
Beal declined to comment earlier this week when asked about the memo.
Glaser, a former schooner captain who has served as Rockland harbor master since February 2004, was twice suspended last year.
In June, Chaousis placed the city employee on paid leave for four days, reinstating him in time for the annual Rockland Lobster Boat Races. Glaser then was suspended for a week without pay in October.
The manager did not give reasons for the suspension, citing the confidentiality of personnel matters. But the first suspension came in the wake of Glaser clashing with councilors over a proposed increase in harbor fees. Glaser had opposed the hike.
Concerning the second suspension, Glaser has said he was accused of acting unprofessionally, a claim he disputed. He appealed the action and announced in October that he was retiring on Feb. 1, 2016.
In November, Chaousis reversed the unpaid suspension and reduced it to a written warning. Chaousis said he reduced the penalty after hearing Glaser’s appeal and in consideration of Glaser’s retirement announcement.
“Conformance with policy and city rules are miniscule in the context of your announcement to retire,” Chaousis said in his Nov. 4 letter to Glaser, rescinding the suspension. “The end of a professional public career, whether long or short, is a moment to pay respect for your service.”
Glaser was paid for the week that he was off work.
The harbor master’s appeal of his firing now will go to a three-member committee that will consist of Joanne Billington, chair of the city’s personnel committee; an employee appointed by the manager; and an employee picked by Glaser, according to Chaousis .
The timetable for the hearing will be scheduled by the personnel chair, he said.