A windstorm that swept through Chittenden County in 2017 is still causing blowback.
It all stems from $2,000 bonus payments a state panel says two assistant judges approved for themselves more than a year later for overseeing work to a courthouse damaged in that storm.
Judge Constance Ramsey has been disciplined over the lack of transparency in the approval of the bonus pay for herself, according to Judicial Conduct Board records. She did not contest the claims and agreed to accept a public reprimand from the Judicial Conduct Board, according to a filing in the case from late August.
Meanwhile, Judge Charles Delaney said he did nothing wrong and that he is contesting the findings, including that he “approved” the payments. Delaney served in the role of an assistant judge in Chittenden County alongside Ramsey.
Documents in Ramsey’s case state that the parties agree “that her activities that form the basis of this matter did create the appearance of impropriety and was a violation of the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct, even if she was not motivated by the personal pecuniary gain.”
The Judicial Conduct Board records state that Ramsey “did work diligently” on the Courthouse Grounds Restoration Project that gave rise to the allegation against her and that the amount of the bonus “was not unreasonable” for the work performed.
“(N)evertheless,” the board continued, “Judge Ramsey erred by using her position as Assistant Judge to approve and receive a personal economic benefit in the form of a $2,000.00 merit bonus, which violated the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct in that it created the appearance of impropriety.”
Ramsey, in an email in response to an interview request, stated she was proud of the work she did on the courthouse project.
“No findings of impropriety were made,” Ramsey wrote. “The [Judicial Conduct Board] found only the appearance of impropriety because of an apparent perceived lack of transparency.”
She added that the public was invited to be involved in the restoration project.
“I solicited and received several helpful ideas and opinions on this project,” Ramsey wrote. “I invite you to go by and take a look, the courthouse is a magnificent marble building on the corner of Church and Main Street in downtown Burlington.”
Delaney, in an interview, strongly denied wrongdoing. He questioned the process leading to the allegation against him and whether it was even a matter for the Judicial Conduct Board to wade into.
“There was no fraud, no criminal intent, no impropriety on that level. No civil laws were broken. This was a decision that wasn’t made from the bench,” Delaney said, adding it’s not a judicial matter but a county government one.
He said he wants an opportunity to present his case to the board.
Ramsey was first elected to the post in 2010. Delaney served two, four-year terms before losing re-election in 2018.
The actions leading up to the allegations against Ramsey and Delaney date back to October 2017 when a windstorm damaged the Chittenden County courthouse grounds, leading to the creation of the Courthouse Restoration Project, the Judicial Conduct Board stated in its filings.
Ramsey and Delaney oversaw the project from the start to its finish in the fall of 2018.
The project’s work was “significant,” filings stated, including replacing trees, working to divert water flow away from the courthouse, replacing brick walkway with granite pavers, moving shrubs, creating a County logo and flag to add distinction and amination to the building, and adding “classic” perennial to the grounds.
The county budget, the filings stated, includes a section of funds that can be used to award merit bonuses to county staff.
“When a merit bonus is requested, the requested bonus needs to be approved by the Assistant Judges before it can be paid,” the Judicial Conduct Board stated in its filings. “The merit bonus checks are then written by the County Clerk and signed by the County Treasurer.”
On Nov. 28, 2018, according to the filings, Ramsey and Delaney submitted written requests for merit bonuses of $2,000 each, in recognition of the “significant hours” spent on the courthouse project.
“Judge Delaney and Judge Ramsey approved both their own and each other’s requests for the $2,000.00 merit bonuses, along with other bonuses to County staff,” the filings stated.
They later received those bonus payments, the filings stated.
Delaney earlier this month submitted his own filing to the Judicial Conduct Board, contesting the allegation against him. He wrote that he is a “certified stone mason” and came to the bench as a layperson when it comes to law.
“Nevertheless,” he wrote, “during my service as assistant judge, I took nothing more seriously than meeting the highest ethical standards as both courtroom ‘side judge’ and also as a county executive.”
He added that his “on the ground” supervision of the courthouse project saved the county money.
“I put my masonry skills and my contracting skills to good use for taxpayers,” Delaney wrote, noting the spent at least 150 hours of extra time “beyond regular courtroom and county duties” that was “critically important to ensure that this restoration project got done on time and on budget.”
Delaney disputes that he “approved” any bonus payment to himself or asked for one.
He said he recalled speaking with Ramsey about bonuses for the work they had done on the courthouse restoration project.
“She said, ‘I’m going to go ahead and submit,’” Delaney said, adding, “That was the last I heard of it.”
He said he thought it would come again but it never did.
Later, Delaney said, he received the check, endorsed it, and then cashed it.
“I received a bonus check based on one conversation I had,” he said. “That’s all I know about it.”
The filings from the Judicial Conduct Board stated that Delaney approved the requested payments.
“Consistent with County procedure for approving bonus payments,” the filings stated, “the requests for the bonus payment were ordered and approved by the County Clerk; recorded and reported by the County Treasurer, and Judge Delaney and Judge Ramsey approved both their own and each other’s request for $2000.00 bonuses.”
Chittenden County Clerk Anne Williams said Tuesday she recalled she was asked in a memo on behalf of both the assistant judges to include the bonus payments in a check.
“I don’t have authority to approve or not approve and I was given a memo signed from both assistant judges,” Williams said.
Assistant judges, sometimes called side judges, in Vermont are elected to four-year terms, and serve as administrators of county government, including putting together a budget.
Assistant judges, according to the Vermont Association of County Judges website, can also sit along with trial court judges on certain cases.
In addition, the website stated, with proper training they can preside as hearing officers in the Judicial Bureau, a judge in uncontested divorce proceedings and an acting judge in small claims court.
The approved county budget for pay for each Chittenden County assistant judge in fiscal year 2019, which is the time period in which the bonus payment had been made, was $60,400, according to county records.
Correction: An earlier version of this story included an incorrect image of the courthouse.
