Brattleboro moves to give manager walking papers

BRATTLEBORO, Vt. --Town Manager Jerry Remillard, who went on leave in December in the midst of two investigations into the town's role in the development of a new transit center, will leave his post, officials said.

The Select Board voted 4-1 Wednesday to authorize Chairman Stephen Steidle to sign off on a separation agreement with Remillard.

Remillard worked his way up through the ranks of the town's Public Works Department before being appointed director and then, a decade ago, town manager.

His tenure as chief executive in a politically restive town has not been without controversy.

He has been in the hot seat on issues ranging from how well the town is prepared for an emergency at the nearby Vermont Yankee nuclear plant to a fatal 2001 police shooting of a man in a church.

Remillard came under fire last year for his handling of the town's role in the redevelopment of its train station into a multi-use transit center.

Residents voiced concern about the finances of the project and about the fact that town officials couldn't find the contract they said they had signed with the company hired to manage the project.

Reviews by the state auditor of accounts and the Federal Transit Administration found there had been no wrongdoing by Remillard or other town officials, but that the project could have been managed better.

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Information from: Brattleboro Reformer