After members of the Bremen budget committee criticized Bremen Selectman Patrick Ginnaty for what they alleged was a shirking of his duties, Ginnaty has announced his intent to resign from the Bremen Board of Selectmen after four years on the board.
The allegations were made at a meeting of the Bremen Budget Committee on Jan. 25.
“He never attends meetings, he doesn’t sign the warrants, but we keep paying him,” Budget Committee member Hank Nevins said.
The budget committee then called for the selectmen to put in place an official job description for selectmen that would allow the town to dock pay from selectmen that do not fulfill their duties.
“This isn’t punitive, but there should be some system in place to enforce our expectations of a selectman.” said Lisa Wilson, chairman of the Bremen Budget Committee.
Ginnaty, who did not attend the Jan. 25 meeting, responded to the allegations during a phone interview on Jan. 26. “I’ve attended as many selectmen’s meeting as anyone on the board during my tenure, and I’ve attended as many Budget Committee meetings as any selectmen,” Ginnaty said.
Ginnaty said that on Jan. 25 he was at home babysitting his special needs grandson during the meeting.
“Given the choice between fulfilling my obligations to my family and meeting with the Budget Committee, I think I made the right choice,” Ginnaty said.
In an email to The Lincoln County News on Jan. 27, after the phone interview, Ginnaty, who serves as the town’s General Assistance Administer, furthered elaborated on his disappointment and surprise at the allegations.
“In the last four years, I have attended 99 of the 100 selectman’s meetings, more than either of the other two selectmen,” Ginnaty wrote. “I have spent literally hundreds of hours, in various capacities, for Bremen.”
In that email, Ginnaty announces his intention to step down from his position as selectman.
“The person who described it to me as a ‘thankless job’ was not exaggerating,” Ginnaty wrote.
