Since voting to fire Town Manager Sharon Jackson, Paris selectmen have yet to comply with a very specific Maine statute that deals with public records and freedom of access to them.
Title 1 M.R.S.A. §407, Subsection 2, "Dismissal or refusal to renew contract," directs selectmen to
"…make a written record of every decision involving the dismissal…of any public official, employee or appointee…[and to]…set forth in the record the reason or reasons for [their] decision and make findings of fact, in writing, sufficient to appraise the individual concerned and any interested member of the public of the basis for [their] decision. A written record or a copy thereof shall be kept by the agency [i.e., the town] and made available for any interested member of the public who may wish to view it."
Noncompliance could cost individual selectmen.
Title 1 M.R.S.A. §410, "Violations," says,
"For every willful violation of this (statute), the state government agency or local government entity whose officer or employee committed the violation shall be liable for a civil violation for which a forfeiture of not more than $500 may be adjudged."
Call the Town Office (743-2501) and ask to see the written record.
