Something smells rotten in Brookfield Town Hall

There is an odor emanating from Town Hall and it is coming from First Selectman Steve Dunn’s office. After a hard-won election, what was the most pressing issue facing the newly elected official?

A new police station, what to do with Center School, how to pay for a new library? No, it was to fire Fern Smenyak, the Human Resource Director for the town.

After a hard-fought election, Dunn took all the political capital he gained and threw it right out the window and poisoned the well with it. I have heard that fellow employees were crying when they heard the news, and Town Hall morale has taken a serious hit, and now Mr. Dunn is supposed to oversee the human resources department?

Where does an employee go if they have an issue or problem with the first selectman? Do they go to the person who acts as judge, jury, and executioner?

Fern has been a 10-year employee with a stellar record, working for three different selectmen, and had no disciplinary actions or negative reviews in her file.

In fact, she even received positive reviews from Mr. Dunn during the six years they worked together. What could she have possibly done in his first three days back to warrant a firing? We will never find out because, in my opinion, Dunn and selectman Bob Beldan are afraid to let the public hear the reason. Fern is more than willing to discuss this publicly at a Board of Selectman meeting, but they are not. Is this their idea of transparency?

During the debates much was talked about how some Town Hall employees were leaving for higher paying jobs and the difficulties in attracting good workers. When we have a dedicated and beloved employee why the rush to fire her? We the people deserve to know if there was just cause to fire Fern or is a personal vendetta against her for not allowing him to be added to the town pension after he lost the election 2 years ago. She wouldn’t break the rules to appease him and followed the town charter. Even the town attorney agreed with her. So, does her firing serve in the best interests of Brookfield, its residents, and its town’s employees, or Mr. Dunn’s?

Jim Fisher Brookfield