The Kennebunk Select Board needs to revise the Town Manager’s contract so he can’t retain his Town job and salary if he is elected to the Maine State Senate.

On January 7, 2020 the Kennebunk Select Board signed a new three-year contract with Michael Pardue that specifically authorizes him to keep his job as Town Manager if he wins election to the Legislature.  Senators have to be in Augusta from January through June (2021) and January through May (2022), so Pardue would  be spending large amounts of time at what amounts to a second job.  Nevertheless, the new contract gives him a full-time compensation package that would cost Kennebunk taxpayers $186,370 in the first year (including a $26,000 cash contribution to his retirement account).

In addition to paying Pardue for a job he clearly can’t show up to, this contract would unfairly burden other Town employees who would have to pick up his workload.  These are the dedicated employees who are required to report for work every day in order to receive their pay.  There would also be a negative impact on employee morale if the Select Board allows the top manager to openly violate the Personnel Policy by holding another job that interferes with his work for the Town.

The Kennebunk Select Board and Michael Pardue must replace the 1/7/20 contract with a new one that clearly states:

*If Michael Pardue wins election to the State Senate he must resign as Town Manager effective not later than the beginning of the 2021 legislative session;

 
*If elected, Pardue will return to the Town of Kennebunk a prorated share of the $26,000 retirement contribution for the year;

 
*Michael Pardue must not allow his Maine Senate campaign activities to interfere with his responsibilities as Town Manager or with decisions that he makes in that capacity.