MILO, Maine — The town of Milo is running thin after four Select Board members resigned within the last two weeks, three of whom were at risk of being ousted from the board after holding an illegal meeting outside of a public meeting.
Former board member Susan Libby resigned May 3, and Donald Banker and Eric Foss followed on May 7 and May 8, respectively. All three took part in the illegal meeting, Town Manager Robert Canney said.
Stephanie Hurd resigned from the board May 2 due to frustration with ongoing conflicts and friction between board members, Canney said.
According to Canney, after an executive session on March 7, Libby, Banker, and Foss held a nearly 30-minute conversation in the town office lobby.
The entire conversation was picked up by a town office security camera and overheard by community members. The three members can be heard discussing town personnel matters and criticizing town employees and the town's police and public works departments.
This is the video of the meeting:
Board Chair Paula Copeland said the three board members should have known they can't discuss town business and personnel matters outside of public or executive sessions.
"You talk about your kids, you talk about your pets, you talk about the weather, but you don't talk about town business," Copeland said.
The Select Board is made up of five members, and Copeland is currently the only member on the board.
Copeland and Canney said they are disappointed, that the actions of the trio jeopardized existing relationships between elected officials, town employees, and community members.
"The way they went about it, and the nature of the conversations created a big divide between the board and the town employees," Canney said. "It was a severe breach of trust."
The divide prompted nearly 200 community members to sign a petition to recall the results of the town's March 11 election, though that was rendered moot by the resignations.
Copeland and Canney are still in damage control mode as they work to maintain transparency between town leadership and their constituents.
"The fact that that got out there and the actions that Paula is taking really solidified that trust," Canney said. "This is just the actions of a few folks, and now that those folks have done the right thing and resigned, we can all just move on and that's exactly what we intend to do."
The town of Milo will hold a special election June 3 to replace the four board members who resigned.
Copeland said she will not be making any unnecessary town decisions until new officials are elected. NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to Libby, Banker, and Foss. Libby declined to comment, and Banker and Foss have yet to respond.