BUXTON – Buxton, plagued by problems retaining leaders in two departments, has had two more resignations – one amid charges of misconduct.

Buxton Public Works Director David Pinkham resigned earlier this month in controversy following a town brouhaha involving department junk disposal.

Then last week, Fire Chief Bruce E. Mullen, the fourth fire chief in six years, quit.

Pinkham, 44, who became the Public Works Department director in 2009, said last week he resigned May 8 following a town letter he received April 26 signed by Board of Selectmen Chairman Peter Burns, alleging “misconduct” in the sale of town property.

“I didn’t do anything wrong, I didn’t steal anything,” Pinkham said. “It was a witch hunt.”

The issue that led to Pinkham’s resignation involved how money generated from the sale of town-owned junk material was spent.

In the letter to Pinkham, the town alleged that on “several occasions you knowingly and improperly directed or permitted employees of the department to sell town property (including used materials and equipment) and then spent the sale proceeds without proper authorization or accounting.”

Pinkham, his lawyer and a former selectmen all agree that the money was spent in accordance with long-standing practice.

“The items that were scrapped were cutting edges and wheel drums, but after we moved shops and did a cleanup, we also had an old rusty sander and plow that my mechanic confirmed was junk, and the selectmen said they did not want to put more money into,” said Pinkham. “The money [from the sales] has always been, for 30 years, according to former directors, for coffee and doughnuts after a storm, water on hot days, a Christmas gathering or birthday cake.

“I also bought kitchen supplies, plates, cups, and dry goods,” Pinkham said.

Pinkham said the amount of money involved was $2,100 in a three-year period.

Pinkham’s lawyer, Peter W. Evans, said in a letter to Burns that Pinkham “inherited this long-standing, historical past practice of the Department of Public Works with regard to scrap metal and the uses to which these proceeds were put.”

Daniel Collomy, a former Buxton selectman, confirmed Tuesday that the practice had been had been instituted some 30 years ago.

The letter to Pinkham also alleged that “without proper authorization, you purchased gifts (including tools) for individual department employees with the credit card provided to you by the town.”

Evans said in his letter to Burns that Pinkham utilized the town credit card to purchase items like “drill kits, folding pliers, etc.,” as gifts for employees for extraordinary service to the town, and also that Pinkham asserted it was “well within his discretion as director.”

Selectwoman Jean Harmon deferred comment to Burns. He declined to comment Wednesday, citing personnel issues. Selectman Clifford Emery declined comment, while Selectwoman Dianne Senechal and Selectman Robert Libby could not be reached by American Journal deadline Wednesday afternoon.

Attorney Daniel Rose of Drummond Woodsum in Portland said Wednesday he represents the town of Buxton and works with its selectmen.

“I deal with the board on employment issues,” Rose said, but he declined comment on any particular one, citing confidentiality required by state statute.

On Wednesday, the town released copies of the two resignation letters. Pinkham’s was brief:

“I, David Pinkham, resign as Public Works Director today, Tuesday, May 8, 2012.”

Mullen thanked the town in his letter:

“I would like to inform you that I am resigning from my position as the Chief of Buxton Fire and Rescue. Thank you for the opportunity to be Chief of the Buxton Fire and Rescue that you have provided me during the last four years. I have enjoyed working with many of the people in the department as well as other employees of the town.”

Buxton Police Chief Michael Grovo said Tuesday he conducted a criminal investigation about the use of the Public Works money, and turned results over to selectmen. Grovo said summonses were issued, but then were voided. Grovo did not release names of individuals who received a summons.

Pinkham and Keith Emery, a Public Works Department employee and also a former Planning Board member and chairman, both said they had received a summons in connection with the town’s allegations.

“The charge was for a class C felony of theft by deception,” Pinkham said about the summons he received.

Pinkham said he was suspended from duty on April 17.

“The selectmen said they would drop my summons only if I resigned,” Pinkham said.

Emery, a full-time town employee for 12 years, said he was charged with stealing cutting edges, and was suspended 30 days.

“I did get my job back,” Emery said. “They dropped the charges.”

Emery praised Pinkham’s job performance.

“It’s unfortunate to lose the public works director,” Emery said.

Pinkham was appointed as the department director in February 2009, succeeding Lary Owen, who had resigned in December 2008. Owen became the town’s first director of public works in 2005. He succeeded Sharon Elwell, who had been an elected road commissioner of the town’s department, formerly known as the Highway Department. The Public Works Department under Pinkham moved from a facility on Haines Meadow Road into new quarters adjacent to Town Hall on Portland Road.

Meanwhile, Mullen is the latest of several Buxton fire chiefs in recent years. The list includes Larry Straffin, who resigned the post in May 2008, just months after being appointed in late 2007. He replaced Jim Graves, who resigned in August 2007; and Jeff Grinnell, who resigned in July 2006.

Mullen could not be reached for comment.

The Buxton Fire Department has three stations – Bar Mills, Chicopee and Groveville. Bar Mills and Groveville each have a deputy chief, while Chicopee has a captain in charge.

The town is advertising both public works director and fire chief positions on its website. The salary range for the fire/rescue chief is $50,000 to $55,000. The pay rate for the public works director is advertised as $24.15 per hour.

The ordeal has shaken Pinkham, who said he has lost 15 pounds.

“I worked hard on my job. I looked forward to going to work,” Pinkham said.

Recent events could fuel discussion at the Buxton town meeting on Saturday, June 16, when voters have to approve the town budget – including the Public Works Department budget formulated by Pinkham.

Pinkham and his wife, Tasha Pinkham, Buxton’s recreation director, have been married a year.

“We have six kids. Now my husband has no job. Now what?” she said.

She said her husband took over as public works director in a February blizzard in 2009 – “and [it] ended in a blizzard.”

Pinkham is a Buxton native and from a family with generations in town.

“This was devastating,” he said. “It has taken awhile to come to grips with it.”

“I worked hard on my job. I looked forward to going to work,” says David Pinkham, who has resigned as Buxton’s public works director amid a controversy involving the use of funds from the sale of town-owned scrap materials. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)