Editor’s Note: This story by Darren Marcy first appeared in the Valley News on April 13.
Woodstock Municipal Manager William H. Kerbin Jr. has been placed on paid leave but details of the situation remain scarce.
A short announcement was issued by email at midday on Tuesday by Woodstock Fire Chief David Green, who has been named acting municipal manager by the Selectboard: “By mutual agreement, Town Manager Kerbin is on paid administrative leave. This leave will give Woodstock as a whole and Mr. Kerbin the time and space to consider their future needs.”
Neither Kerbin nor elected officials have responded to requests for comment.
The municipal manager is appointed by and reports to the Selectboard and the Woodstock Village Trustees, according to the town webpage.
In an interview on Tuesday, Green said he previously served as acting manager for about a month in July 2019 after Phil Swanson, Woodstock’s longtime municipal manager, died following a lengthy battle with leukemia.
Green gave way that August to Frank Heald, who served as interim town manager until March 2020, when Kerbin took the helm.
“I have experience with the town,” said Green, who also has worked as superintendent of public works. “I’ve been with the town in one position or another for 30-plus years.”
Green said he received a phone call on Sunday informing him he would serve in the role, “until further notice,” but wasn’t told why Kerbin had been placed on administrative leave.
“I wasn’t privy to any of that information,” Green said.
Emails, phone calls and Facebook messages to Kerbin and elected officials seeking comment on Tuesday evening were not returned with one exception.
Selectboard Chairman Joe Swanson, who is Phil Swanson’s son and a sergeant in the Woodstock Police Department, said in an email that he would not be part of the deliberations about Kerbin’s fate.
“As a village employee, I am recused and have no further comment,” Swanson said in an email message.
It’s not clear when the Selectboard voted to place Kerbin on leave.
The trustees joined the board on April 4 for a joint session, and the Selectboard met again on April 5.
The minutes from the joint meeting make note of an executive session, but no action was reported as both boards returned to public session and immediately adjourned.
Kerbin is not listed as being in attendance in the minutes.
On April 5, a recording of the Zoom meeting does not show Kerbin in attendance.
In that meeting, the Selectboard also went into executive session, but members did not mention Kerbin after returning to open session 40 minutes later, according to the recording.
April 5 meeting minutes were not available Tuesday.
For now, Green said it’s business as usual at Town Hall.
He said he’ll be busy working on plans for the pandemic relief funds from the American Rescue Plan Act and getting ready to break ground on a wastewater treatment plan in South Woodstock.
“I’ll do whatever the board’s desires are,” Green said. “I work at their pleasure.”
Green still will be overseeing the fire department.
“I have captains and assistants who will help me out,” he said.
Kerbin was selected in January 2020 from four finalists out of 44 applicants. He had previously been the town manager at Onancock, Virginia, where he worked for about 4½ years, according to his LinkedIn profile.
