Fired North Kingstown Animal Control Officer Will Fight for Reinstatement

North Kingstown, RI—The animal rescue and fostering community is in shock after Holly Duffany was terminated this month from her job as North Kingstown's animal control officer over a paperwork issue.

Duffany, who served as ACO in the police department, appeared at a Personnel Board hearing on Thursday after Town Manager Thomas Mulligan notified her she was fired earlier this month. She pleaded her case to two board members who were present, but it apparently wasn't enough to stop the termination process.

Mulligan, the former police chief, is a member of the board, but he recused himself, citing the obvious conflict.

Mulligan said he would not comment on the matter. In an e-mail message, he said employee matters are "considered private individual matters and therefore I will not be commenting."

Duffany said she is devastated.

"Beyond devastated," she said. "I put my heart and soul into the shelter and community."

And she said she will fight to get her job back.

"I'm not even trying to be that hostile, disgruntled, fired employee," Duffany said. "But this is just not fair or right."

In an interview, Duffany acknowledged there was a "paperwork issue" and said she was written up once. But she never received counseling or help from supervisors to rectify the problem, she said. She said she never received formal training from the police department. There "are no procedures or manuals for animal control," she said.

"I wouldn't be fighting this if I truly did something wrong," Duffany said.

Duffany requested the Personnel Board hearing to be held in public in accordance with a section of the town's code of ordinances that gives employees being terminated a chance to wage a challenge. Employees can choose to have the hearing in either a public or private setting, and several members of the public spoke on her behalf, saying the town was losing one of the most devoted and responsive ACOs in the state. It was noted that Duffany was named "Animal's Best Friend Award" in 2014 by the Rhode Island Veterinary Medical Association, among other awards.

All weekend, the animal rescue community took to social media in defense of Duffany, pledging to send emails and make calls to the town and the Town Council demanding she be reinstated.

In a post on the North Kingstown Animal Shelter Support Foundation's Facebook page, members said they were saddened, shocked and stunned. They urged people to go to Monday night's Town Council meeting to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting if they're not happy with Duffany's termination.

Other voices of support have come in the form of at least one Town Council member.

Town Councilwoman Ellen Waxman wrote, "I agree that Holly's termination needs to be reviewed and put back on the table. I know Holly personally and can attest to her job dedication, work ethic, and her warm personality and integrity. If an employee has these fundamental qualities, it is the responsibility of management to establish an effective system of checks and balances to catch potential performance failings before they become problematic, and advise and help their staff to ensure success."

Duffany said she is exploring her options and is hoping she can go to arbitration with union support.

The ACO is a police department employee. According to the town charter, "a permanent town employee may be dismissed or demoted whenever, in the judgment of the appointing authority, the employee's work or misconduct so warrants."

After being given notice, an employee has two weeks to file a reply with the Personnel Board, which, according to the charter, "in conducting a hearing, the proceedings shall be informal and it shall be assumed that the action complained of was taken in good faith unless proved otherwise."