The Bucksport Town Council last week fired Town Manager Derik Goodine, who served as the town manager of Naples from 2004-2014.

Goodine started the Bucksport job on June 16 of last year. On Aug. 18, the Bucksport council voted 4-2 to terminate Goodine’s contract without cause. Goodine could not be reached for comment. Bucksport Councilor David Kee, who voted with the majority to terminate Goodine, declined to provide details on why Goodine was fired. The Bucksport job was Goodine’s fourth town manager position.

“It was decided that we were simply going in different directions,” Kee said.

Last December, Bucksport’s Verso Paper Mill closed, forcing 570 workers into unemployment, and drastically diminishing the town’s tax base. In response, Goodine testified in favor of legislation this spring that provides immediate tax relief for towns that suffer “sudden and severe property tax value reductions.” The law, L.D. 550, speeds up the process of changing the state school funding formula to reflect a town’s diminished tax base. According to former Bucksport councilor, Byron Vinton, Goodine was the “leading force” behind the legislation.

“In Bucksport’s case that meant that next year we’ll get approximately $2.3 million more in school subsidies,” Vinton said. “That’s a huge amount of money that our taxpayers don’t have to pay.”

Vinton, a strong supporter of Goodine, resigned from the council on Aug. 13.

“I think it’s a travesty,” he said. “I think it’s the worst thing the council has ever done. That’s the reason I resigned from the council. Because I refused to have my name associated with the actions they were taking.”

Vinton said he was bewildered by the council’s decision to fire Goodine.

“I feel that it was one particular council member who for whatever reason was vindictively going after Derek and his goal in life – and that’s just my expression – was to terminate Derek,” he said.

Vinton declined to name the council member he had in mind. Kee said that Goodine’s firing had nothing to do with a personal vendetta.

“I didn’t see that at all, and I was not aware of that,” Kee said.

Goodine earned roughly $68,500 in Naples and $82,000 in Bucksport. He will receive six months pay and benefits, according to Kee.