-----Original Message----From: donatobos@comcast.net [mailto:donatobos@comcast.net] Sent: Sun 10/18/2009 8:50 AM To: MacDonald@Town.Duxbury.MA.US Richard,
A couple of weeks ago, I sent you an email asking you for which Town employees you are responsible for doing annual performance evaluations and when was the last time you actually did them. I have yet to receive an answer from you. As Town Manager, you are personally responsible for conducting annual performance evaluations for approximately fifteen (15) Town employees. These annual performance evaluations are required by the Town Manager's Act, the Personnel Plan, and the individual contracts of the Town's contract employees. I have spoken with a number of employees for whom you are responsible for conducting annual performance evaluations and they have told me that you have not conducted their evaluations for the past three years.
At the Board of Selectmen meeting on September 28, 2009, in response to the question from a resident asking you why you hadn't conducted a performance evaluation of the Police Chief for the past three (3) years, you responded "Due to the fact that there were negotiations for . . .uh . . .various bargaining units, those evaluations were put off by advice of labor counsel." As you are aware, I have been unable to confirm this claim as the Town Labor Counsel has refused to confirm or deny your claim under the "attorney-client privilege." I cannot imagine, however, that the Town Labor Counsel would advise you to violate the Town Manager's Act, the Personnel Plan, and the individual contracts of our Town's contract employees.
Are you saying that you could not conduct the annual performance evaluations of these individuals because they were members of unions with whom the Town was negotiating contracts? If so, isn't it true that a number of the employees for whom you are responsible for conducting annual performance evaluations are not members of a union - the Police Chief being one such person. Or are you saying that, even though during your tenure the Town has added a Personnel Director (for approximately $90,000), a Finance Director (for approximately $100,000), and a Town Labor Counsel (for some cost which I have yet to be able to find out), positions that were not in existence under Duxbury's previous Town Manager, you have not had the time for the past three (3) years to conduct annual performance evaluations as required by the Town Manager's Act, the Personnel Plan, and the individual contracts of our Town's contract employees?
As you know, your failure to conduct annual performance evaluations for approximately fifteen (15) Town employees, in direct violation of the Town Manager's Act, the Personnel Plan, and the individual contracts of our Town's contract employees, leaves the Town
extremely vulnerable to employment related lawsuits. So, I ask you again, for which employees are you responsible for conducting annual performance evaluations and when was the last time that you actually conducted those annual performance evaluations? The preceding e-mail message (including any attachments) contains information that may be confidential, may be protected by the attorney-client or other applicable privileges, or may constitute non-public information. It is intended to be conveyed only to the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not an intended recipient of this message, please notify the sender by replying to this message and then delete all copies of it from your computer system. Any use, dissemination, distribution, or reproduction of this message by unintended recipients is not authorized and may be unlawful.