LIVERMORE — Selectpersons voted Tuesday to rescind a unanimous vote to extend the probation of Road Foreman Gerald Whitney because it’s illegal, according to minutes of their emergency meeting.
Whitney, 60, of Wilton, who was hired in November 2015 with a six-month probation, was arrested March 18 on a misdemeanor charge of operating under the influence in Farmington. He was not working at the time.
On Monday, the board held an executive session and afterward voted to extend his probation, pending notification from the Maine Department of Motor Vehicles or the court of the revocation/suspension of his commercial driver’s license.
After learning state law prohibits probations of more than six months, the board held another executive session Tuesday and afterward voted to rescind its earlier vote.
“The selectmen are aware of the situation,” interim Administrative Assistant Amy Byron wrote in an email to the newspaper Wednesday. “It is a personnel matter and it remains under review and investigation.”
On Thursday, Byron provided the information on the Monday and Tuesday meetings in response to a Freedom of Access Act request from the Sun Journal.
Board of Selectpersons Chairman Peter Castonguay gave Byron permission to send the draft minutes to the newspaper after the Maine Municipal Association and the town’s attorney were consulted, Byron said.
Whitney is scheduled to appear in a Farmington court April 26.
dperry@sunmediagroup.net
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