HOULTON, Maine — The Houlton Town Council voted unanimously on Monday night to terminate the town manager’s contract without cause effective immediately.
Cameron Clark was appointed town manager earlier this year after Jeremy Smith unexpectedly resigned from the role in January. Clark was initially appointed interim town manager and promoted in April.
He was placed on administrative leave on Oct. 10 following his Sept. 25 arrest and incarceration on felony victim tampering and domestic violence assault charges.
The town has the right to terminate Clark’s contract at its discretion, and because it was terminated without cause, he will receive three month’s severance of his $131,000 annual salary and benefits.
During his short tenure Houlton has come under fire in several ways, including from residents concerned about the town’s controversial surveillance camera system and multiple legal filings against the town regarding alleged Freedom of Access Act violations that led to the town depleting its annual legal budget.
A 24-page police affidavit obtained by the Bangor Daily News in September alleges that on Sept. 12 Clark repeatedly shoved a woman he had invited to his home with both hands backward off his porch and into the bushes. The victim told investigators that Clark threatened to ruin her and she would never get another job in town if she reported it, the affidavit revealed.
In the aftermath of Clark’s arrest, the town council initially decided to stand by Clark and keep him on the job. But the resultant community unrest reached a boiling point amid calls by the community and the president of the Maine Town, City & County Management Association to place him on administrative leave.
Councilors Jon McLaughlin and Alexis Brown resigned because they did not agree with the council’s decision to keep Clark on the job, citing moral and ethical concerns.
Additionally, three municipal departments declared in letters to the council that they had lost confidence in Clark and the council. The members of the town ambulance and public works union said that while Clark may have helped the town financially and structurally, “he has destroyed the moral and ethical compass we all live by.”
“Seeing the leader of our town operating outside of that standard is disheartening,” they said.
“What was once a team of employees proud to work together and represent the town of Houlton has become a group of employees ashamed of the decision made by the town council.”
To further complicate the town’s governance, when Clark was placed on leave in October, Council Chairwoman Jane Torres resigned citing her continued belief in Clark. Immediately after Torres resigned, Counselors Eileen McLaughlin and Jim Peters resigned, basically leaving the town without a governing body because there was no longer a council quorum.
Following the rash of councilor resignations, three people — Jeffrey Maguire, Jantzen Craine and John “J.J.” Schools — were appointed on Oct. 15 to one-year terms by remaining Councilors Edward Lake and Eileen McLaughlin, restoring the council’s quorum of four members and a chairperson.
McLaughlin termed out of her seat in November, but Lake remains as council chairman.
Former councilor Sue Tortello was elected to a one-year term in November.
Resigned councilors Torres and Brown were also elected in the November election, but Brown declined the seat, leaving one open seat.
In the last council meeting, local entrepreneur Fred Grant was appointed to a one-year term.
During Monday’s meeting, Tortello said they will be advertising for an interim town manager.
“It’s nice to see the council working together as a team,” said Councilor Jeffrey Maguire. “I like the direction we are moving in, I like the direction the town is moving in.”
