One month after the Bennington Select Board abruptly dismissed Town Administrator Kristie LaPlante, residents are still seeking further explanation from the board regarding the decision.
“The town is moving in a new direction,” Select Board Chair Jim Cleary said, when the Ledger-Transcript asked for a reason for the dismissal at a Select Board meeting on April 29. Cleary repeated the sentiment when resident Mike Munhall asked him to elaborate at the Board’s next meeting on May 4. “Anything you say can be misconstrued – we’re going in a different direction,” Cleary said. The Board said nothing else on the matter.
“I’m a resident and voter, and I found it to be very condescending and dismissive,” Munhall said after the meeting. Munhall chairs Bennington’s Conservation Commission and serves on a number of other boards. “It leads me to believe they had no direction,” he said, both before their decision to fire LaPlante, and after.
Munhall said he wanted the Selectmen to explain what their goals were in replacing the sitting town administration. “What are the goals of the town that the former administration couldn’t achieve?”
LaPlante was notified of her dismissal on April 8. Deputy Town Administrator and Tax Collector Dee French, who is also LaPlante’s mother, is resigning at the end of the month. In a resignation letter provided to the Ledger-Transcript dated April 12, French wrote that she learned her part-time position was going to be eliminated during an April 6 Select Board meeting. Cleary did not respond to a request for comment.
Munhall said that he was under the impression that the Select Board would put out a statement to other town committees to explain the new power structure in the office, “just to explain who you go to for what,” he said. “That was almost two weeks ago,” he said. “I know there are a lot of people that are wondering what’s going on.”
Meanwhile, rumors are flying about the reason for the termination, Munhall said. “There aren’t a lot of people that are very involved in the town,” he said. “When the town leaders give you the stiff arm, well, why should I do anything?” he said. “I’d like to see the town do well, but if the Selectmen are just going to be very arbitrary in their decision making, what’s the point?” he said.