CUMBERLAND — The fire chief was suspended without pay for five days for falsifying payroll.
Chief Dan Small’s suspension ran from Aug. 9-16, according to Town Manager Bill Shane’s disciplinary letter, which was obtained Thursday, Aug. 17.
Small was suspended “as a result of (his) actions related to the deliberate falsification of payroll forms on June 28, 2017, and July 7, 2017,” the letter said.
Two employees were paid for 36 hours of additional time they had not worked, Shane said in an interview Aug. 17.
Small’s “suspension without pay more than covered that compensation,” the manager said.
It is the only time in Small’s 18-year tenure as chief that he has been disciplined, Shane said, noting that “Dan has an impeccable record. I think this was just a total lapse of judgment.”
Small could not be reached for comment.
Shane declined to disclose how the matter was discovered.
He said he and Small met Aug. 16, after the chief’s return to work, and will continue to meet weekly during the renovation and expansion of the Central Fire Station at 366 Tuttle Road.
The project could be complete by next spring.
Alex Lear can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 113 or alear@theforecaster.net. Follow him on Twitter: @learics.
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