The Peterborough Select Board asked Town Clerk Linda Guyette to resign this summer in lieu of publicly discussing the results of the third-party investigation conducted regarding her conduct with other town employees. The investigation, which wrapped up in early August, found that Guyette had been hostile to the Deputy Town Clerk and neglected to train her, among other findings.
The Select Board offered Guyette a six-month salary payout, plus all her accrued sick and vacation time and six months of COBRA health insurance and a confidentiality agreement about the investigation if she agreed to resign, in a letter to her dated Aug. 21.
“If you refuse to consider resignation, the Select Board will schedule a public hearing on Sept. 1, 2020 at 5:00 p.m., at which time they will receive the report and discuss the complaints; those documents will enter into the public record,” the letter read.
Freelance reporter Damien Fisher requested details from the investigation on Aug. 24 and published them on Aug. 30, and Town Administrator Rodney Bartlett mentioned the investigation at the end of the Sept. 1 Select Board meeting. The Select Board’s next scheduled meeting is Oct. 6.
Guyette referred questions to her lawyer when asked about the resignation bargain on Wednesday.
New Hampshire Deputy Secretary of State David Scanlan said there is “no cause for concern” that the personnel conflict in the Peterborough Town Office could affect the administration of the November elections, after reviewing the situation and meeting with State Representative Peter Leishman, Town Moderator L. Phillips Runyon, and Guyette on Sept. 18 to discuss the elections. Leishman alerted Scanlan to the situation after he heard the Deputy Town Clerk was in control of absentee ballots, Leishman said.
“Some duties related to processing absentee ballots were not in full and complete control of the Clerk, and they need to be,” Scanlan said. The Deputy Town Clerk is allowed to process absentee ballots, but all activities must be overseen and directed by the Clerk, he said.
The Peterborough Select Board received a letter from his office reiterating the responsibilities the Clerk must not be barred from carrying out, Scanlan said. He didn’t anticipate a need for any further oversight, “unless the conditions that generated our attention continue.”
The Deputy Town Clerk has been assigned to work in another area of the Town House and her primary duty is processing absentee ballot requests right now, MacStay said, but “of course” the process was being carried out under the conditions cited in the letter from the Secretary of State. Guyette is involved and provides necessary information to the Deputy, MacStay said.
Town Moderator L. Phillips Runyon said he had no specific concerns about the administration of November’s elections, and praised Guyette’s work in past elections. “I don’t anticipate anything getting in the way of that,” he said.