The Lincoln County Commissioners granted Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office (LCSO) Deputy Peter Kenyon’s appeal of disciplinary action by Sheriff Todd Brackett Feb. 1.
According to a Feb. 7 press release from the commissioners’ office, “Deputy Kenyon’s lost pay will be restored and all documents related to the discipline will be removed from his file.”
Kenyon appealed a one-day suspension without pay, Sheridan Bond, chairman of the Lincoln County Commissioners, said Feb. 8.
The reason or reasons for the suspension remain unclear at press time. Bond, Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell and Sheriff Todd Brackett declined to provide details.
Brackett declined to comment further on the matter and said he had received “no formal communication” on the issue from the commissioners and was unaware of any decision on the appeal.
The commissioners granted the appeal in a public meeting Feb. 1 after an executive session attended by Kenyon, union representatives, Brackett and Annalee Rosenblatt, the county’s labor consultant, Bond said.
Following the executive session, Bond and Commissioner Lynn Orne voted 2-0 to grant the appeal. Commissioner Bill Blodgett was absent.
Kenyon declined to comment on the matter, however, Jason Pease, Chair of Local 1828 of the Association of Federal, State and Municipal Employees – the union that represents LCSO employees – expressed concerns about the county’s handling of the issue.
Pease expressly said a single commissioner released the information and did so without first notifying Kenyon, Sheriff Brackett, Rosenblatt, or Pease, the union head, of the decision.
“Although… we are satisfied with [the] decision as far as the employee is concerned, the union is upset that a certain commissioner is releasing this to the public without contacting the employee,” Pease said Feb. 8. “It kind of shows us that certain commissioners have their own agenda.”
Pease declined to identify the “certain commissioner” in question.
“We thought we had a good working relationship with everybody but when somebody is running out to beat somebody to the punch… that is not the way to do business,” Pease said. “The union will be looking to set up a meeting with the commissioners about this specific incident.”
Lincoln County Administrator John O’Connell declined to comment on the press release or to say whom, beyond the press, the commissioners notified of their decision.
(Sherwood Olin contributed reporting to this article.)
