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06/28/2017 08:50 AMAn arrangement between an employee of two local municipalities and the Middlesex County state’s attorney led to the employee’s resignation and one town’s police department ceasing an investigation, but the second town is still looking for answers.
On June 16, the Old Saybrook Police Department (OSPD) announced the criminal investigation of Old Saybrook Fire Marshal Donn Dobson had been suspended after Dobson and the Middlesex County state’s attorney had reached agreement. The negotiated settlement announced in the OSPD news release included Dobson’s agreement to resign from employment with the towns of Old Saybrook and Westbrook and a stipulation that he no longer work as fire marshal in Middlesex County.
Westbrook First Selectman Noel Bishop has been unable to confirm these terms since the agreement had not been shared with him by press time, nor had he or the Board of Fire Commissioners received a letter of resignation from Dobson.
Dobson first joined the staff of the Town of Old Saybrook as town fire marshal in 1998. In March 2016, he added a part-time job to his full-time post with Old Saybrook with an appointment from the Westbrook Board of Fire Commissioners as one of three part-time deputy fire marshals for the Town of Westbrook. In this second role, Dobson was responsible for reviewing construction plans for compliance with fire and life safety codes and, for the first six months he held the post, approving the time cards for the other two deputy fire marshals.
On June 15, the Westbrook Board of Fire Commissioners met and received a report from Deputy Fire Marshal John Planas. At that time, though news of Dobson’s resignation from Old Saybrook had just been announced, Dobson had not contacted the Fire Commission chairman or Bishop regarding the settlement agreement. But the next day, the June 16 news release from the Old Saybrook Police Department indicated that Dobson, as part of the settlement, had agreed to resign his employment with Westbrook and Old Saybrook. Yet, at press time, Dobson had not submitted a letter of resignation as deputy fire marshal for Westbrook.
Based on the OSPD news release, Bishop wrote to the Board of Fire Commissioners: “I have further reflected on the question regarding the alleged resignation that was discussed at your meeting as a Board of Fire Commissioners on 6/15/17. I would strongly recommend that since there was a criminal investigation in Old Saybrook regarding the employee, it is important that you, as a board and the appointing authority of the deputy fire marshals, avail yourselves of any and all information regarding the circumstances of the alleged resignation.”
Following Bishop’s email to the commissioners, Chairman Bob Hagemeister set a special meeting of the board for June 20, to discuss Bishop’s email. The commissioners discussed the email, but took no action with respect to Dobson. Bishop agreed to contact the state’s attorney with whom Dobson negotiated to get clarification about Dobson’s status and employment restrictions.
In the Town of Westbrook, the hiring, firing and oversight of the town fire marshal and deputy fire marshals’ work is the responsibility of the Board of Fire Commissioners.