STANDISH — The recently fired Standish town manager is “laying low right now” and “pretty upset and disappointed about the way this all went down,” according to his attorney.

The council voted 6-1 during a Monday, July 23, special meeting to terminate manager Kris Tucker’s contract without cause, meaning he is entitled to severance and health care payments. Tucker had been on the job for less than eight months.

“The timing of all this was quite curious,” Tucker’s lawyer, Gregg Frame, said by phone Wednesday. “Something stinks – you don’t need to be a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.”

Frame also said the town initiated an outside investigation into allegations made against Tucker. He did not specify what the allegations were, but said the investigation exonerated Tucker.

Frame, a partner in the Portland firm Taylor, McCormick and Frame, said legal action is “certainly an option,” but added it is “premature to say we’re going to litigate this case.”

“We’re going to explore all options,” he added.

Council Chairman Steven Nesbitt said during the Monday, July 23, meeting he could not go into the reasoning behind the termination because it is a personnel matter.

“The best I can address that at this time is we performed Mr. Tucker’s six-month evaluation, the Town Council has had several discussions, and we feel it’s best to part ways at this time,” Nesbitt said.

The lone councilor who voted against firing Town Manager Kris Tucker on Monday said Tuesday the termination was “a total snow job.”

Councilor Peter Starostecki said by phone Tuesday morning he believes other members of the council and staff at Town Hall view Tucker “as a detriment to the status quo.”

“I’m pretty upset about it,” said Starostecki, who called Tucker a “terrific town manager.”

Responding to Starostecki’s comments Tuesday, Nesbitt said that he respects everyone’s opinion but does not agree with Starostecki’s characterization of the termination. Nesbitt said the action was “in the best interest of the town in the long term.”

“My job is to think of the town as a whole,” Nesbitt said.

Councilors went into executive session with town attorney Patricia Dunn of Portland firm Jensen Baird Gardner & Henry before taking the vote.

Other than brief remarks Monday night from Nesbitt, which came in response to questions from the auidence, none of the councilors made comments before the vote.

Resident Myke Russell asked if taxpayers would “get to know what’s going on” and added that “it’s a lot of money” to go through the process of finding a new manager.

“I understand the frustration, but due to the personnel nature, we must keep it confidential,” Nesbitt said.

“It’s just very frustrating for us, only knowing what we do know, which isn’t very much,” said resident Kathy Johnson. “To think that somebody was doing a good job – what we see, seems to be doing a good job – and then (we) just get sort of left out with nothing for information.”

Tucker was not present for Monday night’s meeting. Nesbitt said Tucker was informed of the termination vote last Wednesday and then placed on paid leave. The termination was effective Monday night, he said.

Frame says that the town initiated a third party review, conducted by human resources professional Deb Whitworth, into allegations made against Tucker.

Frame had not yet obtained a copy of the review’s findings, and would not specify what the allegations were, but said that “the investigation completely exonerated Kris.”

Both Whitworth and Nesbitt declined to comment when asked to confirm that the third party review took place. Whitworth deferred the question to the town’s law firm.

A call to Dunn, the town’s attorney, was not immediatly returned Wednesday. She had no comment when approached by a reporter Monday night.

Tucker had been town manager since December, when he took over for longtime manager Gordy Billington.

The council voted 5-2 last October to hire Tucker over another finalist for the job. Tucker previously worked as the director of economic and community development in Northampton, Virginia, and is originally from New Hampshire.

“Kris was brought in to affect change,” Frame said, noting that Tucker’s efforts to bring changes to how the town is run “definitely chafed the old guard there.”

Frame said Tucker has since bought a house in Standish, and has lost 17 pounds in the last 30 days as a result of the recent events in town.

Tucker’s contract allows the town to terminate his employment without cause, but the town must pay him a lump sum severance equal to three months salary. Tucker’s initial yearly salary was $100,000. Under the contract, the town is also required to maintain Tucker’s health insurance plan for a period of three months.

Tucker was chosen to replace Billington, who had been in the role for 16 years, after a months-long search conducted with the help of Maine-based law firm Eaton Peabody.

Nesbitt said Eaton Peabody could again be involved in the search for a new manager, which he hopes can be wrapped up in six months with an interim manager in place within the next month.

The council has appointed Public Works Director Roger Mosley and Finance Director Scott Gesualdi as co-acting town managers.

After retiring as manager, Billington served in an advisory role for about a month last winter to work with Tucker during the transition.

Reached for comment Tuesday morning, Billington said he is enjoying retirement but would consider returning in an interim capacity “if the town had a need.”

Billington said he thinks Standish “is in very good hands” under acting managers Mosley and Gesualdi.

Every member of the current council was serving when Tucker was hired. The only two members who voted against hiring Tucker as manager last fall were Councilors Michael Delcourt and Greg Sirpis.

Sirpis commended Nesbitt’s leadership later in the meeting Monday night.

“I do want to recognize and compliment you on your handling of the past few weeks, which has been difficult at best,” Sirpis said. “I appreciate very much your leadership and your diplomacy.”

Nesbitt said after the meeting that the town has received communication from a lawyer regarding Tucker’s contract situation, but that no legal action had been brought forth as of Monday night.

Frame said his first communication to the town attorney, sent last Friday, was a “fairly simple” request for Tucker’s personnel file, written reasoning for termination and other documents.

Matt Junker can be reached at 781-3661 ext. 123 or mjunker@keepmecurrent.com. Follow him on Twitter: @MattJunker.

Editor’s note: Attorney Gregg Frame has represented the reporter’s parents in an unrelated property rights case.

The Standish Town Council voted Monday night to terminate the contract of Town Manager Kris Tucker.