An investigation into allegations that public works employees were picking up yard waste for friends and family while on the city’s time clock produced no evidence of wrongdoing, according to Westbrook’s human resources director.
The allegations came first from an anonymous letter in late April, according to the director, Tina Crellin. The letter said that, according to a public works employee, the yard waste he was cleaning up was not from the Patriot’s Day storm, but that he was helping his buddy out. The employees were assigned to clean up debris from the storm, a special project that limited residents to disposing storm debris only.
A few weeks later, another letter arrived making the same allegations, but this time it was signed by Susan Calvert, said Crellin. City policy required that the allegations in that letter, because it was signed, be investigated.
Tom Eldridge, director of public works, said he did look into the situation when the first letter came in, but didn’t find anything unusual.
“Unfortunately with the program we had, we did have some abuse,” Eldridge said of the Patriot’s Day storm cleanup. Some people added non-storm yard waste to the piles that were picked up by the city, he said.
After the signed letter came in, with more details about specific employees, Crellin said she assigned John Emerson, deputy director of public works, to investigate the official complaint. He found no wrongdoing.
Crellin said that because Calvert did not include any contact information, the city could not locate her for more details on the incidents she described in her letter. The city attempted to find Calvert, said Crellin, but she is not listed in the phone book and doesn’t appear to own Westbrook property.
Send questions/comments to the editors.
