Letter concerning Robin Newton employment status

October 31, 2019

Jose Santana Jr.

Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations

38 Wolcott Hill Road, Wethersfield, CT 06109

Re: Letter concerning Robin Newton employment status

I am writing to you in the capacity as Ms, Newton's direct supervisor

I was not aware nor involved with the drafting and preparation of this correspondence. After reviewing the contents of the document, I feel that the letter misstates facts.

t was concerned based on the tone and demeanor of Attorney Smith during interviews of staff that this investigation was biased and predetermined. As the Department head, several members of my staff came to me and complained of their treatment during this process. I personally was shocked by comments such as, "Well Robin doesn't seem like someone that knows how to stay in their own lane" which were made during the beginning of my interview by Attorney Smith. Several of my staff members voiced concerns that the process did not seem fair and open.

I was not comfortable speaking up due to fear of retaliation. This was compounded when during my interview, E. Gomes stated to me that we would have to speak to the Town Manager regarding an answer. I felt intimidated and manipulated by the inquiry.

I am concerned with statements that are attributed to me are not accurate. I would like to correct the record.

As one example Starting on Page 4 the Section lack of Candor

Denial of incident with a resident:

Ms. Newton's response was mentioned to me when I was interviewed by the Town's labor attorney. My reaction to this was; "Was the business name shared with her or was the individual's name only mentioned? I do not expect her to remember the person if you do not provide context to the incident." Based on response by counsel, it did not appear that the relevant information such as the business name was not shared.

On August 12, 2019, I met with J. Mu}len. Attached is my memorandum which highlights our conversation.

I am also not aware of the statement of a "target on your back" being made by Robin Newton.

I noted the comments regarding sick time. After my interview, I recalled the issue coming up in 2017. At that time, it was explained by the then Planning Director that use of sick time for doctor appointments had to be tracked with a cap. I did not recall this because I personally never approached the time allotted. As I noted, I felt that based on past directions I could understand why questioning of time would occur. When I returned to the office, I was instructed that sick time requests for J. Mullen would be handled directly by E.Gomes.

A section of the report mentioned texting J. Mullen while she was out on medical leave,

After my interview, I recall more detail to this event. J. Mullen was out of the office and R. Newton was on vacation. J. Mullen was the only member of our CAZEO board that had info on registration and payments for participants for our Institute. The intent was to somehow get the information prior to the start of class so that the group had the proper information on who was registered and paid in full to sit for the classes. Prior to her medical leave, Ms. Mullen did not share the information with the group because she was intending to handle registration for the first day of classes. The attempted contact by R. Newton was solely for CAZEO purposes not work related.

The comments regarding an incident with Colleen Fenn in the winter were troubling. R. Newton looked for guidance from the front office/human resource department regarding a matter. She followed the instructions that were issued by E. Gomes. After meeting with Ms. Fenn and discussing the matter in detail, the issue was resolved. I did not observe a moral issue directly related to R. Newton's actions, in fact staff interaction after this incident improved.

As R. Newton's supervisor, I do not have an issue with how she speaks to me. We have worked together for 4 years. We have a professional relationship that if was offended or concerned by a comment, tone, or demeanor, I would speak directly to Robin. We have spoken in the past when either side was offended by the words or actions of the counterpart, not in the way in which was described in the letter.

After I completed a job performance review of Robin Newton, I was approached by M. Capriola and E. Gomes with the direction to work with E. Gomes on potentially changing the performance review. M. Capriola stated that if R. Newton asked about the status of this that the Town Manager's office was reviewing. I did not meet with E. after our encounter and chose to stand by the completed review as my assessment. After my meeting, I spoke to Robin concerning my uneasy feelings of objecting to this request.

Under my leadership, the Planning Department has become a high functioning and customer service based group. The Department has increased credibility with the business community.

In closing, I have reattached my job performance review of Robin Newton which shows my opinion of her performance and my opinion remains the same that she should be promoted to Assistant Town Planner.

Very Truly Yours,

Michael Glidden

Cc: Town of Simsbury

Robin Newton