SUMNER — Kelly Stewart resigned as selectman prior to Tuesday’s meeting, one week after the board reviewed the contents of an independent investigation into allegations against a prior town official and sitting elected official.
The board refused to disclose the contents of the investigator’s report at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting, but said it would release a redacted copy sometime next week.
Selectman Mary Ann Haxton told residents that based on the report by the investigator, Stewart “failed her duties to the town as a Select Board member.”
Haxton added that if Stewart had not resigned, that the board would have sought to censure her.
The investigation, conduct by Matt Tarasevich from the Bernstein Shur law firm in Portland, began in early May following allegations of misappropriated funds and equipment in the Fire Department. Fire Chief Robert Stewart, a 25-year veteran of the department and the chief for the past 18 years, resigned April 25.
Kelly Stewart, who was also secretary of the Fire Department, also resigned that day, but maintained her Select Board seat.
No formal charges have been brought forward, just rumors and vague accusations that have created tension between residents and the town office. More than 30 residents attended Tuesday’s meeting hoping for some answers.
Haxton told residents that the investigation involved funds and equipment at the Fire Department.
According to the Select Board’s May 2 minutes, an investigator was to be hired “to investigate allegations relating to a prior town official and sitting elected official.”
The board opened Tuesday’s meeting by gathering in executive session for 14 minutes to consult with its attorney on the board’s rights and duties in light of the completed independent investigation. Board members Haxton and Don Munroe came out of executive session, announced Stewart’s resignation and voted unanimously to accept it.
Saying the board needed to maintain a balance between both state law on confidentiality and the Freedom of Access Act requirements for transparency and open government, Haxton said the town would release a redacted version of the report next week. She claimed even under FOAA that certain records are confidential and cannot be disclosed.
“People can review it and draw their own conclusions,” Haxton said.
Haxton told residents that she would not summarize the report before the redacted copy is available.
“Based on the investigator’s findings and conclusions, we believe that Miss Stewart failed her duties to the town as a Select Board member,” Haxton said. “Had she not tendered her resignation, we would have made a motion to formally censure her.”
She added that the board has no power to recall an elected official; that process belongs to residents.
With Stewart’s resignation and the report completed, Haxton said she considers the matter closed.
However, the Oxford County Sheriff’s Office is still investigating the issue, which is ongoing.
In other business, town officials moved the date of the annual Town Meeting from Aug. 8 to Sept. 5 to allow the warrant to get completed and the budget to be finalized.
All three Select Board seats will be on the ballot for the Town Meeting. Haxton is running for another three-year term. With Munroe stepping down after getting elected last year, his replacement will serve the final two years of his term. Stewart’s replacement will serve the final year of her term and will need to run for reelection next year.
Nomination papers are only available for the one-year vacancy and are due back to the Town Office on Aug. 11. Anyone wishing to run for the other two seats can be nominated from the floor at Town Meeting.
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