General Administrators Quit on Woman/Resident Abuser Sloscum, City Manager

FIRE ALL THE EVIL- CITY MANAGER JOE SLOSCUM AND CITY PLANNER WAYNE MARSHALL, CITY ATTORNEY'S KRISTIN COLLINS AND BILL KELLY.

REPLACE MAYOR ASH CITY COUNCIL AND THE PLANNING BOARD.

RETRAIN WITH ETHICS RULES OF CONDUCT- ECONOMIC DEVELOPER THOMAS KITTREDGE,  CODE OFFICER TOD ROSENBURG, ASSISTANT PLANNER SADIE LLOYD, DIRECTOR OF PARKS AND REC NORM POIRIER,  DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS BOB RICHARDS, THE NEW TAX ASSESSOR  BRENT MARTIN

HIRE A FULL TIME CITY ENGINEER WITH STAFF ACCOUNTABLE FOR ALL BELFAST PROPERTY

AND BECAUSE HEIL HURLEY IS THE LARGEST HOLE IN BELFAST, ROAST HIM OUT WITH HIS LARGEST NYE BONFIRE .



4/25/2015  I have many posts on Joe Sloscum's abuse to women that have worked for him. How the public supports City Hall in the face of abuse after abuse is down right disgusting. I met with Debbie McGowan (General Assistance) thinking I was applying for heat assistance and then I broke into tears to have found out I was in General Assistance. I asked her to rip up my application because of Slocscum's abuse to me. It was like asking for help from my killer. It was awful. I had met the husband of the previous GA and he told me how abusive Sloscum was to her. Sloscum did the same to a young life guard at Belfast City Park.

Denise Beckett, the City Clerk resigned too. Bet she has some abuse stories. No one talks though, retribution is lethal. I know.

City trades fed-up GA administrator severance for resignation

Threat of lawsuit may have led to separation agreement
By Ethan Andrews | Apr 25, 2015

The General Assistance office in Belfast City Hall, center, shares a corner of the building's second floor with the office of the city manager, right.
Belfast — The city's General Assistance administrator resigned this week under uncertain circumstances. Debra McGowan of Searsport served for three years in the part-time position reviewing applications for General Assistance aid.
On Tuesday, the City Council accepted her resignation and approved a separation agreement that entitles McGowan to six weeks' pay. As part of the agreement, McGowan waives any potential discrimination claims against the city under the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act, Age Discrimination Employment Act and/or the Maine Human Rights Act.
The decision followed an April 14 hearing at which Councilors considered a letter from City Manager Joe Slocum recommending McGowan be fired. The meeting was originally to be held in closed session, but was opened at McGowan's request so that she could have supporters present. Information about that meeting presented here comes from draft minutes taken by city attorney Kristin Collins obtained by The Republican Journal.
According to the minutes Slocum presented his letter and recommendations, McGowan presented her case, and each "replied to points raised by the other." Councilors Mike Hurley, Neal Harkness and Mayor Walter Ash entered information into the record on "what they had heard or witnessed of [McGowan's] work performance."
In further discussion, each of the councilors "summarized their opinion of the evidence presented and expressed his or her concerns regarding [McGowan's] continued employment and working relationship with [Slocum]."
Councilor John Arrison moved to request McGowan's resignation. The offer, Collins explained, would take the place of a Council decision on "whether or not to impose discipline on [McGowan]." The motion was unanimously approved.
The minutes state that McGowan then indicated "she would resign if that is how the Council felt," and left the meeting. The Council subsequently agreed to have Collins extend a separation agreement to McGowan in exchange for six weeks' pay.
The minutes give no indication of why the Council would offer a severance to a part-time employee who was being considered for discipline or dismissal. But McGowan's resignation letter, dated the following day, along with the waivers in the separation agreement, suggests that she may have had grounds for recourse. Her letter, in its entirety reads:
"Per your request desiring me to resign, please accept this resignation. My prayer is that because I stood up for what was right, so that in return, the next General Assistance administrator won't have to go through what us last three have gone through with Joe. Not many people will put themselves in the position that I did to stand up for what's right as it's easier to quit."
The Council on April 21 approved the separation agreement and closed the April 14 hearing "without making any finding of fact."
The separation agreement entitles McGowan to the equivalent of six weeks' pay, $2,032.38, before standard withholdings, to be paid within 14 days of the execution of the agreement.
The Republican Journal provided McGowen with a copy of the minutes from the April 14 meeting and asked for clarification on the reason for the separation agreement.
"I was given six weeks' pay [for] not suing the city," she said. "I'm giving up my right to sue the City of Belfast."
Speaking earlier in the week, City Manager Joe Slocum said there was no litigation against the city or formal grievance. The city will be looking for a new General Assistance administrator, he said.
Contacted on April 24, Slocum declined to comment on McGowan's resignation.