News

Springfield terminates town manager, cites litany of issues

By Patrick Adrian [email protected]
SPRINGFIELD, Vt. — Town employees alleged problems of physical availability and communication involving former Town Manager Steve Neratko, who was officially terminated by the Springfield Selectboard on Monday for failing to meet a contractual requirement to find residency in Springfield.

By a unanimous vote, the Springfield Selectboard approved a resolution to terminate Neratko’s contract due to violating a provision in the town charter and his employment agreement, which required Neratko to establish a residency in Springfield within six months of his hire.

Neratko, who took over as town manager on April 1, missed his contractual deadline of Oct. 1 to acquire a home by purchase or rental in the town. Neratko continues to reside in East Dover, Vermont, a town located 44 miles and approximately a one-hour drive by vehicle from Springfield.

In an appeal to the board, Neratko said he received no warning from the board, who issued Neratko a notice of termination on Wednesday, Nov. 5 following a special board meeting the prior evening.

“During weekly meetings [with board members] it was never mentioned to me that I needed to move within a certain timeframe,” Neratko said. “We discussed housing in an honest and open manner and I was never given a warning that I needed to move immediately.”

Neratko said he “made every effort” to acquire a home in Springfield but struggled with challenges posed by the ongoing novel coronavirus pandemic and a high demand for homes that have increased home prices and competition between buyers. Neratko said he placed down payments on two homes but did not close due to issues found during the inspections.

The pandemic also made home searching problematic because Neratko’s wife has health issues that compromise her immune system, Neratko said.

“It has been incredibly difficult to purchase or find rental housing during the pandemic,” Neratko told the board. “We could not have expected this when I accepted the position.”

Adding to Neratko’s surprise was that the selectboard, prior to terminating Neratko, approved a town charter amendment that removed the residency provision. Springfield voters approved the amendment in a ballot initiative on Nov. 3.

However, the Vermont legislature must approve the amendments before they can be enacted, so presently Springfield’s residency requirement is still law.

Neratko’s attorney, Aimee Goddard, questioned the board’s assertion that the residency requirement necessitated termination, pointing out that the board waited four weeks after the residency deadline to terminate Neratko.

“For over a month the town did in fact allow Mr. Neratko to continue his position, without raising that issue to him,” Goddard said. “The question on the table, I think, is why? Why did that happen on Nov. 5 rather than Oct. 2?”

A number of town employees — including Police Chief Mark Fountain, Parks and Recreation Director Andy Bladyka and Assistant to the Town Manager Brian Benoit — gave testimonies in which they indicated occasions in which they had difficulties trying to reach Neratko by email or phone about important town matters.

Additionally, Benoit, who works in the Town Office on Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to noon, said there have been numerous days when Neratko either did not come to the office or arrived later than scheduled.

“There were certain days when he was scheduled but didn’t arrive and other days where he arrived much later than anticipated,” Benoit said. “Most days I would receive an email but not in every case.”

Benoit also said that many of his calls to Neratko regarding town decisions were never returned.

“[The calls] would touch upon issues where grants had deadlines and needed attention where only the town manager could provide,” Benoit said. “There was a particular incident where racist graffiti on the foundation of Cheshire Street Bridge was brought to my attention. I was unable to reach Mr. Neratko in a timely way and [Police] Chief Fountain stepped in to take care of it.

Fountain said the police department has traditionally had to reach the town manager about high-profile public incidents such as assaults using a deadly weapon or abductions. If the chief was unable to reach the town manager by phone or email, the chief might foreseeably try to visit the town manager’s physical residence.

Bladyka said that his department, given the nature of their services, usually needs to reach the town manager during off-hours in the evenings or weekends.

“The difficulty I had with [Neratko] was more with email than telephone,” Bladyka said. “I sent an email to Mr. Neratko in June that he hasn’t responded to yet.”

Neratku denied the claims that he has not returned phone calls or emails.

“If I do receive a phone call I return it immediately,” Neratko said. “I have this cell phone on me 24-hours a day… I check my email early in the morning, late at night, weekends and respond as quickly as I possibly can.”

When questioned by Goddard, Bladyka admitted that these issues with phone and email communication did not appear to relate to Neratko’s physical residency.

Springfield Selectboard Vice-Chair Michael Martin contended that Neratko’s physical residency is relevant to the broader discussion of availability, particularly in which Dover’s distance from Springfield contributes to Neratko’s absence.

“It’s important that we have full-time service from our town manager,” Martin said. “What concerns me is that, [while] there are reasons to have to go home from time to time, the distance that [Neratko] lives from the office isn’t conducive to a quick jaunt home and to come back to serve the community of Springfield.”

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