Update!! The Town Director of Planning and Development-planner quit since this article was originally posted! How many does that make?
First the dump closes early and less days and now its
going to be tough to get a marriage license.
The heading must be enough to raise eyebrows. The Town of Kittery can’t keep employees. For years as a Town Councilor, I have questioned the hiring practices and the failure of a policy with regards to the retention of good employees and yes, even keeping the bad ones. I was not alone because other Councilors have raised the same issue and even the ones I did not always agree with on my left. Before you complain, I sat on the far right. Add to the exodus from Kittery are several board members and a few who have just resigned. Then we learn that Kittery hires another financial director from Amesbury Mass (or close to it) incidently where the Kittery Town Manager currently resides. Yes Massachussetts. Apparently there are no qualified Kittery residents for the Kittery Financial Director and again we pick from the pool that has nothing to do with Kittery. What are we afraid of?
The story seems to have a common denominator if you connect the dots. Even recently, The Town’s cronies even went after a planning board member on the planning board for signing the petition against the 900 unit development that was being pushed through. Citizen before board member. The people saw through that fiasco for there was so much more behind that story then just filling wet lands.
As it goes for employees, the story goes that the Town comes to the Council and makes a claim this person is the best and Kittery needs to pay that person well and we need him or her. Shortly after they are hired, they leave. What they left! What happened? What is going on? Did they have an epiphany? or did they simply figure out.
Someone reaches into a hat and pulls out a new job description and sells it. The council buys it every time.
from the Herald, The proposed $714,399 year-over-year municipal budget increase, Amaral told the Town Council, also accounts for inflation seen in markets nationwide.
“That’s a huge driver for this budget,” she said. Lets just add another high paying position when the economy is in peril.
LINK: NEW COMMUNICATION DIRECTOR …are you kidding me?
I am sure you have heard the complaints of harassment, hostile work environments, theft, safety issues, misappropriations, nepotism, the list is endless believe me I know. If not, just ask those who have endured it and have no reason to keep quiet for Job Security. Look what they did to me when I exposed the employees complaints.
Let’s recap the last 8 months. slow and methodically, they start leaving, one by one, The DPW/Transfer Station, loses seven. The KCC lost three. Just last month alone, the KCC lost two. The Town Hall loses the Town Planner, the Finance director, the assistant Code Enforcement officer, according to sources, the Assistant Code Enforcement officer submitted his resignation and was allegedly offered another Kittery higher position with more money if he would stay and he said no and left. Then there was the Finance Director, she was alike a YOYO, hired, quit, came back, then left again. Did it not get better the second time around? I am sure this story will be spun to fit the narrative.
Let me recap the last 5 years oh, I am sorry I lost count after 23+ employees one being a department head’s relative.
As many employees are cautious to speak, the reasons seem to be the same. ‘oh, everything is great’. How many exit interviews are conducted, who does them, Kendra Amaral’s HR director? I wonder how that goes! We used to have an outside company do our HR management. Perhaps, Kittery can’t control a legitimate organization and be subject to the criticism of malfeasance..
The Council is not privy to these phantom exit interviews during the Town Managers reviews. Well it can’t because its a double edge sword between the Charter and personnel issues and we don’t want to violate the charter.
These exit interviews seldom happen unless requested by the employee and I am sure the stories from the employees would no doubt be the same. The silent treatment, harassment, poor management, screw up move up, you’d better keep it quiet we don’t need any more issues. I was recently asked, what happened to the old Town Manager, the Chief of Police Paul Callahan or James Soucy, Jim left abruptly, did anyone interview him? Where is the citizen action committee that looked at certain Councilors over the loss of a Town Manager and Police Chief?
The Transfer Station or the Dump has been hit hard. It has reduced hours so the TAXPAYER needs to pretty much schedule when they can dump trash. When does it start accumulating on the side roads so that the DPW can clean it up. Wait, they are all leaving the DPW! Don’t drink the well water there that’s for sure.
What is going on there? Has the real reason the dump is understaffed made news yet?. Freedom of speech is prohibited at the Kittery transfer station and the former employees have told me that they are strictly prohibited from talking to certain residents.
Until the taxpayer wakes up and holds the common denominator accountable it will never change. People are becoming more and more aware of the shenanigans and soon there will be more coming. As former employee get brave, began to use their voices, or when Kittery gets a union rep with back bone who is not part of the good old managers club, or has a HR firm who really protects employee rights and does not work directly for the Town Manager, the citizens will come to realize that something is wrong in Denmark.
