It’s been more than six months since two female firefighters in Westbrook went on what was supposed to be a three-week administrative leave after filing sexual harassment complaints against the city, and there’s no indication that their return is coming anytime soon.
But both their lawyer and the city have said that’s still the ultimate goal – and still a realistic one.
“I do expect them to come back,” City Administrator Jerre Bryant said about firefighters Kathy Rogers and Lisa Theberge eventually returning to work in Westbrook.
However, said Bryant, “there’s a lot of hard feelings” remaining in the department.
The women’s attorney, Rebecca Webber, was not available for comment this week, but said last month that, other than their husbands, firefighting is the love of their lives and they are eager to get back at it.
Between October and March, Bryant said, the city has spent about $48,500 paying firefighters overtime as a direct result of Theberge and Rogers being on leave.
Bryant said each shift is staffed by 10 firefighters, and at least nine are required to be working at all times. So, if one person on Theberge’s or Rogers’ shift cannot work because of a vacation or illness, the city has to pay another firefighter to work overtime.
Since Rogers and Theberge went on leave at the end of September, the department has felt the aftershocks of the women’s allegations of sexual harassment by their co-workers.
First came the sudden retirement of longtime chief, Gary Littlefield, after which the department was placed in the hands of Police Chief Bill Baker. In January, the city hired Baker’s former neighbor, Daniel Brock, charging him with the task of leading the department in a new direction.
Brock came on board in the midst of six firefighters serving suspensions that Mayor Bruce Chuluda issued as a result of the sexual harassment claims. The suspensions, which ranged from one week to 60 days, were staggered throughout December, January and February.
Though the suspensions have all been served, the ultimate fate of one member of the department, Donald Trafford, who was demoted from lieutenant to firefighter, is still up in the air.
Trafford filed a grievance with the Maine Labor Relations Board to fight his demotion. A hearing on his case wrapped up last week, and the attorneys for Trafford and the city have until May 11 to file written statements with the labor relations board panel. The panel then has 30 days to make a decision whether to uphold, modify or vacate the disciplinary action taken by the city against Trafford.
Bryant said he doesn’t know whether that decision will have an affect on when Rogers and Theberge return to work or what it will take to make the department a comfortable environment for the women.
“It will be a mutual decision,” Bryant said, about both the city and the women deciding when the appropriate time is for them to start working again.
Despite a change in leadership, the department still has a long way to go before there’s a significant, positive change in the atmosphere, said Bryant.
“There’s a lot of division. It’s going to take quite a bit of time and work for the organization to move forward,” he said.
For now, Bryant said, Brock has been trying to get the firefighters “refocused on the business at hand.”
“It’s a pretty significant task he has,” Bryant said.
Gerry Provencher, a captain in the department, agreed, saying Brock was “dealt a bad hand.”
“He started the job with a department with low morale and no budget,” Provencher said, adding the loss of Deputy Chief Ron Jones and the public safety secretary in city layoffs to the list of challenges Brock has had to face.
Provencher said that as a quiet leader “with no hidden agendas and no baggage,” Brock has begun steering the department in a new direction. But with personnel issues involving Theberge, Rogers and Trafford still unresolved, it’s been hard moving forward completely.
Bryant said that people expect Brock to turn the department around overnight, after years of trouble.
“It’s not going to happen that quickly,” he said.
Brock did not return telephone calls seeking comment.
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