Politics & Government

Ott To Ozols: Go Easy On The Town, Says Lawyer

Letter of intent to sue says fired zoning enforcement officer's supervisor asked her to relax zoning regulations, and that she was targeted after her support of the union; Characterizes Ozols as "whistleblower"

In a letter of intent to sue the town, the lawyer for fired Zoning Enforcement Officer Marilyn Ozols, said Ozols was asked was asked to relax zoning requirements in general and "in particular zoning applications brought by the Town of Madison and general zoning matters involving the Town of Madison," by her supervisor Director of Public Works & Town Engineer Michael Ott.

"The criticisms and harassment escalated after Ms. Ozols participated in a union vote and voiced her strong opinion for the union, against the desires of management and in particular [First Selectman] Fillmore McPherson," the letter says.

Ozols was fired June 29 after two public hearings in which Ott and McPherson portrayed her as a willful, difficult employee who exhibited poor judgement.

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Issues raised "capricious"

First Selectman Fillmore McPherson said in the termination letter to Ozols that she was being fired, among other reasons, for "inconsistent performance, .. a pattern of uncooperative behavior, ... poor judgement ..., and failure to communicate ... "

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 McPherson said Monday afternoon that "The Board of Selectmen held two days of public hearings after which we issued Findings and Conclusions.  These documents demonstrate that the issues raised in Atty. Kapadia’s letter are capricious and have nothing to do with our actions.  Ms. Ozols was clearly terminated for entirely different reasons."

In the letter addressed to Town Clerk Dolly Bean, Heena Kapadia, Ozols' lawyer, said Ott "fabricated performance deficiences and criticized Ms. Ozols for her handling of zoning matters when she was merely following the zoning regulations and the directives of the Planning and Zoning Commission. Mr. Ott also attacked Ms. Ozols for voicing her concerns when he required her to ignore state statutes as they applied to zoning concerns affecting inland wetland enforcement and reporting her concerns to the Planning and Zoning Commission."

Efforts to defend herself leads to "further retaliation"

Kapadia said Ozols tried to defend herself, but that just led to "further retaliation."

"As the harassment escalted to written warnings, Ms. Christine Poutot, the chair of the Planning and Zoning Commission, requested that she be permitted to participate in the discussions regarding the zoning issues, consistent with prior practices and CGS Sectin 8-3(e), so that Ms. Ozols was not unfairly targeted ..." the letter says. "In contravention of teh prior practices of the Town of Madison, Ms. Poutot's requests were denied."

"The fabricated performance deficiencies and the retaliation against Ms. Ozols continued, culminating in a suspension on June 2, 2011 and the termination of her employment on June 29, 2011. "

Ozols characterized as "whistleblower"

The letter said the actions of Ott and McPherson "exposed the Town of Madison to damages for wrongful discharge, negligent and intentional infliction of emotional distress, and violations of state and federal laws prohibiting violations of rights secured by the First Ammendment to the Constitution of the United States and protecting whistleblowers."

The Board of Selectmen met in executive session Monday night at 7 p.m. to discuss the letter of intent to sue.

Following Ozols departure, John De Laura , the town's Assistant Zoning Enforcement Officer was appointed acting zoning enforcement officer, McPherson said, while the town searches for a permanent replacement. McPherson also said the town is reviewing the zoning enforcement officer's job description to make sure it is up to date and an accurate reflection of the job.


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