By Mike Donoghue, Senior Correspondent
The Village of Woodstock has hired a private investigator to interview its disgruntled police officers and emergency dispatchers after their respective labor unions both issued “no confidence” votes concerning the performance of Police Chief Joe Swanson.
William A. Burgess of Burgess Loss Prevention Associates of Lebanon, N.H. is being paid $125 an hour to conduct interviews with employees and complete a report, records show.
According to the contract with the town, Burgess has been asked to investigate employee concerns based on town policies and procedures.
The contract calls for Burgess to investigate “complaints by several employees of the Woodstock Police Department regarding the activities, behavior and administrative practices of Police Chief Joe Swanson.”
The contract said Burgess also is expected to deal with “other complaints that may arise out of the initial complaints.”
The contract does not have a cap on how much Woodstock will pay Burgess.
It also was unclear when the trustees or selectboard approved the special spending and where the money would come from. While there have been executive sessions in recent weeks, there are no meeting minutes that show the spending was ever approved at a public meeting, as required by Vermont law.
Municipal Manager Eric Duffy placed Swanson on paid leave on Oct. 15, two days after a motor vehicle incident on High Street involving two motorists, including the police chief’s husband.
Swanson, who was a passenger in one car, was placed on leave by Duffy while the village sought an independent investigation by the Vermont State Police.
Village Trustee Chair Seton McIlroy said this week that after the Oct. 13 incident and the completion of the state police investigation into the traffic incident, members of the Woodstock Police made complaints to the Municipal Manager and the Village Trustees regarding police department management.
She said Duffy, acting on the advice of legal counsel, sought from the Vermont League of Cities and Towns (VLCT) a list of recommended investigators familiar with policing to ensure the complaints were investigated impartially and with the necessary expertise.
Duffy said he was provided six names and believes he reached out to five of them. He said he interviewed four by phone before selecting Burgess.
The Vermont Standard reported two weeks ago that the Woodstock Police Officers’ Union voted 5-0, while the Woodstock Emergency Dispatchers Union voted 4-0 to show their lack of confidence in Swanson’s leadership.
The one-page letter did not give specific examples, but said there were general concerns about a lack of integrity and accountability in decision-making. It also claimed inconsistent and inadequate supervision and leadership.
The co-signed letter from the unions asked the village to remove Swanson as police chief and to find a more suitable leader for the department.
Swanson remains on paid administrative leave this week concerning the unrelated incident, according to McIlroy. Swanson, who was promoted to chief in July 2023, is paid a base salary of just over $100,000 a year.
McIlroy said the investigation is designed to see if the employee concerns are real or are just normal complaints aired about a boss in many jobs.
“We are taking our time and getting an unbiased report,” she said
Duffy has come under fire for a news release he issued when placing Swanson on paid leave the morning of Oct. 15. He said the leave was “as a precaution, following a report of his alleged involvement in an incident on Sunday Oct. 13.”
Initial reports indicated Swanson was only a witness to the incident, but the Vermont State Police report indicated the off-duty chief actually had to help separate the two drivers, records show.
Swanson ‘s husband, Nicholas “Nico” Seldon, said the police chief was defamed by the manager’s comments. Seldon said Duffy has refused to correct the record.
Ann Swanson, the chief’s younger sister, also presented a letter signed by about 40 citizens asking for the Village Trustees and Town Selectboard to investigate whether Duffy violated the village personnel policies in his public statement about Swanson.
No action has been taken by the boards.
McIlroy said Swanson is likely to remain on paid leave until at least receipt of the investigative report from Burgess.
The private detective firm is owned and operated by William A. Burgess, who is a former Vermont State trooper. He has operated his company since 1990 and has been a ranking officer for the Vermont Association of Investigative & Security Services.
The trustees and selectboard members are now facing another new claim about Duffy.
McIlroy said there was a new claim filed in recent days that one or more past town hall employees had bailed out because of Duffy.
McIlroy said the two governing boards have retained a second lawyer at Stitzel, Page & Fletcher in Burlington to offer legal advice.
Attorney Dina Atwood is covering the legal issues in the new claim about Duffy and the former employees, while attorney Matt Bloomer continues to oversee the legal issues from the union claims about Swanson, she said.
McIlroy said the trustees and selectboard believed it was best to keep both complaints separate as much as possible.
McIlroy said she and Selectboard Chair Ray Bourgeois are working with Deputy Municipal Manager David Green and Atwood on the new complaint.
She said there might be a perceived conflict of interest to use Bloomer for both complaints.