OAKLAND, Maine — Less than a week after Oakland’s town manager, Ella Bowman, was suddenly placed on temporary leave, residents are criticizing the town council for how it handled the matter
“Everyone is dumbfounded as to what is going on because there was no transparency,” Alicia Barnes, who lives in Oakland, said.
According to online messages, Bowman said she was notified of her leave after a closed executive session of the council on Wednesday.
The agenda for the meeting includes two items for executive session that Bowman was invited to join. But a third, she claims, took place after she was asked to leave.
This is significant because, if true, it means the council violated Maine law, which mandates that all executive sessions must be publicly agreed to before they can begin. The same rule also gives town employees the right to hear investigation proceedings against them—another thing Bowman said she was not allow to take part in.
Other town officials, like Kelly Roderick, feel this all should have been handled differently.
“She has been, as I feel, unfairly suspended—possibly even illegally suspended.” Roderick said on Sunday, adding she was at the meeting and feels the council changed its course after she left.
“When they went into executive session, I did leave, but during that executive session they added an issue," Roderick said.
What still isn’t known is why specifically Bowman was placed on leave. According to her, another municipal employee made a complaint—which has not been officially confirmed. It's also unclear whether the town council went into a true executive session to discuss Bowman after she left.
NEWS CENTER Maine reached out to several town councilors for a response to this story; none of them chose to comment.