Orrington Town Council Upholds Firing of Fire Chief

In a meeting that was standing-room only, the Orrington Town Council voted unanimously in favor of the Town Manager's firing of Michael Spencer from the position of Fire Chief.

At Spencer's request, the hearing of his appeal was a public affair, with cars lining Center Drive. The room was filled to capacity, as the crowd spilled out into the doorway and beyond. Many of those in attendance were supporters of Spencer, who was fired last month, after spending a week on paid administrative leave.

Town Manager Paul White said the firing was the result of an authorized visit by Spencer to Newport's public safety building and derogatory comments allegedly made by Spencer about White while there. In addition, White said, Spencer broke a confidentiality agreement by disclosing a plan to build a new public safety building, and didn't return his town-owned cellphone in a timely manner.

Spencer and his attorney, A.J. Greif claim that the firing centered around a dispute between the former Chief and White over paid on-call overnight hours for the town's ambulance service. Spencer wanted to provide wages to people who would be available for overnight emergency calls. Without them, he claimed, he would always be on-call for middle-of-the-night emergencies. White said he wouldn't approve the schedule. Because of that dispute and his dismissal, Spencer filed a complaint with the Maine Human Rights Commission, based on 'Whistleblower Retaliation.'

The meeting that began at 7:00 stretched to nearly 10:30 before the Town Council rendered their decision. In a unanimous vote, they upheld White's decision to fire Michael Spencer. Chairman Kevin Allcroft said, after the vote, that it was a personnel issue and should have been dealt with privately, rather than in a public meeting. He said that it wasn't an indication of whether Spencer was a good firefighter, but rather that, as an employee of Paul White's, he should have complied with the Town Manager's wishes.

Greif said he expected the councilors to go along with the Town Manager, stating, "My Mama didn't raise a fool."