The Boothbay Harbor Board of Selectmen's meeting on Wednesday, October 24 was a demonstration of why public business is mostly done publicly. Town Manager Tom Woodin's contract and performance were the topics of discussion. When progress between the board and town manager appeared stymied, comments and questions from the audience provided the needed impetus for resolution. To their credit, the board listened and, after over an hour of discussion, decided to take no action on the town manager's contract. Woodin's probationary period ends on November 4; his contract continues until May 2010.

Selectman Robert Splaine started the meeting with a motion to have Woodin continue as town manager, but for Woodin's contract to expire in May 2009 instead of May 2010, as provided in the current contract. Splaine also proposed that specific language from the town charter concerning the town manager's duties be included in Woodin's contract. Selectman Brian Schutrumpf seconded the motion. Selectman Bruce Engert wanted the record to be clear that Woodin had been offered a private executive session to discuss his contract and performance and had declined.

Selectman Tom Carbone said that having just received Splaine's motion, he had not had time to review the specifics and could not vote on it without additional time. "I thought the purpose of this meeting was to evaluate the performance of the town manager with the list of goals and objectives presented on Monday night," said Carbone. Carbone also said that he was "bothered" by three of the selectmen's treatment of Woodin and had been excluded from their discussions.

After further discussion of Splaine's motion and the option of a one-year contract, Schutrumpf asked Woodin if he was comfortable with a two-year contract. Woodin clarified that the motion would actually mean one and a half years remaining, and said that he was not prepared to make a decision during the meeting. Engert suggested that the board vote on Splaine's motion and then reconvene once Woodin had considered the new contract terms. Chairman Louis Burnham and Carbone voted against the motion; Schutrumpf and Splaine voted in favor; Engert abstained. Since the motion failed, at least in part because of no review time, Carbone suggested that the board recess to review Splaine's motion and extend Woodin's probation period. Woodin responded, "How many times is this going to be dragged out?"

Engert suggested that both the board and Woodin could review the proposed changes at the same time and then reconvene. Woodin responded, "I'm in limbo here until you give me something concrete. I'm not going to go to my attorney and have him review something that hasn't been approved by the board … I'm waiting for you to agree as a board." Carbone then suggested that the board should go forward with the existing three-year contract.

Earl Tourtillotte said, "I'm not a brain surgeon … but you all have agreement. You have an agreement. You cannot change the agreement, as much as you might want to or not want to. You have an agreement that says that Mr. Woodin has a three-year contract and there shall be a probationary period of six months. At the end of that six months, his performance will be evaluated, as well as his level of compensation. If at any time during the six-month period you are dissatisfied with Mr. Woodin, you have 30 days of written notice to terminate him. That's all you have. Any other discussion that you have is improper and probably illegal. It's a three-year contract; it's very clear. I don't see what you all are discussing. To be discussing two years or one year is totally out of line."

Carbone returned to his motion to continue with Woodin's three-year contract. Woodin indicated that no action was needed to continue. Splaine pointed out that, under the terms of the contract, during the probationary period, Woodin could be terminated with or without cause. Engert explained to the audience that some members of the board would like to see a shorter contract period for Woodin. Rather than terminate Woodin "for no good cause" and try to renegotiate a new contract, they had hoped to arrive at a mutually acceptable time period so as not to disrupt town business. Tourtillotte responded, "If anybody on that board would arbitrarily decide that they don't like this contract and then give 30-day notice just to terminate, that's a poor way to do business. It sends a poor message to Mr. Woodin, it sends a poor message to this town, and it sends a poor message to anyone who would be interested in being town manager. You have a written contract, I suggest you live with it."

Jerry Closson then asked the board to consider the list of duties and responsibilities of the town manager. "Do we have any disagreement with any of these things in the first five months and 17 days that should be discussed in public?" asked Closson. Burnham agreed, "We have never discussed these publicly and that's what I would like to do tonight." When asked, Burnham indicated, pursuant with Maine statute, that the audience would not be allowed to speak during the board's review, but would be allowed to comment at the end.

The board then reviewed Woodin's performance on each of the 14 listed goals. Overall, there were either no comments or positive comments on each item. The usually taciturn Burnham was particularly outspoken in his support of Woodin. At the end, Burnham opened the floor to public comment. Sue Bogart and Mary Lee Brown spoke in favor of Woodin. Brown said, "I'm hoping the board will put this to rest … Accept the previous contract." Ross Maddocks asked if the board would go with the three-year contract or try to get a contract with a lesser time period. Engert responded that Tourtillotte was probably "right on the money. We have a contract; it is in force. We really probably have no right to alter it."

Closson asked each selectman if there was anything on Woodin's list of duties and responsibilities not being done. "If there's a problem, it should be aired," he insisted. Splaine and Schutrumpf were the only ones to express concerns, and explained that on occasion Woodin had not provided requested information in a timely manner. However, both indicated that they were satisfied with Woodin and wished him to continue as town manager.

Since no vote was needed for Woodin's contract to continue, the board adjourned without action