The Madison Board of Selectmen hereby declares that any citizen having
a complaint against an elected Town official where they desire some form of
action by the Board of Selectmen shall be required to file a written, signed
complaint with the Town Manager before the Board considers acting upon said
complaint.
Any member of the public who wishes to file a formal grievance against
a member of the Town workforce may do so in writing to the Town Manager within
60 days. The Town Manager shall notify, in writing, all persons involved as
to the time, place and date of a hearing to be held on this matter, and that
the hearing may be opened to the public upon request of the employee. At least
three days' notice shall be given to allow for the parties to prepare for
the hearing. Informal rules of order shall apply which shall be fair to the
parties involved. The Town Manager or his or her designee shall conduct the
hearing and shall render final findings of facts and a decision within seven
days in writing, a copy of which shall be sent to all parties involved. All
personnel hearings shall be closed to the public unless otherwise requested
by the Town employee. The Town employee and the party bringing the complaint
shall be notified in writing of their right to be represented by legal counsel.
The Town Manager shall have the right to sit as the hearing officer
even though he or she may have had knowledge of the facts or could be considered
a witness for either party. The Town Manager may remove himself or herself
from the hearing officer's position and delegate either all or part of his
or her authority provided under this policy or state law to another party.
The decision of the hearing officer shall be final with respect to Town administrative
remedies, except in cases involving department heads.
In cases involving department head personnel, the department head or
the complainant shall have the right to appeal the hearing officer's decision
to the Board of Selectmen. In reviewing the decision, the Board shall see
to it that all due process rights were followed by the hearing officer and
may at its discretion hold a new hearing. The Board of Selectmen, in cases
where a new hearing is ordered, shall follow the same notice provisions as
required of the original hearing officer. The findings of the Board and its
decision shall be required to comply with the same provisions as required
of the original hearing officer. The decision of the Board of Selectmen shall
be final and shall be the end of all administrative remedies.
In cases involving a grievance against the Town Manager, the procedures
outlined in 30-A M.R.S.A. § 2633 shall be followed.