Councilors Review ICMA Report On PD In Executive Session

March 4, 2010 by Josh Morgan

The Cheshire Town Council had its first opportunity to discuss the consultant's report about the issues between Police Chief Michael Cruess and the rank and file officers at the Cheshire Police Department on Tuesday.
However, no details have yet to be made public as the Council discussed the matter behind closed doors in executive session.
At the Council meeting, members entered executive session, a meeting where no tape recorders or uninvited members of the public or press is allowed to attend, for more than two hours to discuss the findings of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA), which had been hired by the Town to investigate problems at the police department that led to police union members voting “no confidence” in Cruess last October.
Invited into the closed door meeting was the full Council, Town Manager Michael Milone, Personnel Director Louis Zullo, the Town Attorney Dwight Johnson, the Town's labor attorney Floyd Dugas and the two consultants from ICMA. Neither Cruess nor any officers participated in the meeting.
Tonight, Council Chairman Tim Slocum said that the Council would be meeting with the "principals," presumed to be Union leadership and Cruess, and that, like Tuesday night's meeting, the proceedings will be held in executive session. After tonight's meeting, it is expected that the full ICMA report will be made public, Slocum stated.
"We want to have an opportunity to have a conversation with the principals," Slocum said. "The report should be made public Friday, sometime. I really cannot comment any further."
Milone said the Council wanted the opportunity to speak with Cruess and the union separately to discuss the report. He said it would be an administrative meeting, as there would be no Council quorum.
"The Council wanted (the principals) to review it and talk to them first before its released," Milone said.
The Town paid an initial fee of $5,000 to ICMA to perform what some Councilors referred to as a fact finding mission. After the yearlong dispute went unresolved, the rank and file placed a nearly unanimous vote of no confidence in Cruess. Believing the issue was out of control and needed a fresh set of eyes, ICMA was brought it to compile a report. The group conducted interviews on Jan. 8 and had 40 days to turn the report over to the Town. It was submitted on Feb. 26.
Union President Lt. Kerry Deegan was suspended from work with pay on Feb. 24, Milone confirmed. Whether the issues in the report and Deegan's suspension is related is unknown, as Town officials refused to comment on the suspension. Deegan could not be reached for comment.
Visit www.cheshireherald.com tomorrow for a copy of the full ICMA report.