New London — The attorney who investigated allegations of misconduct by Police Chief Margaret Ackley “found no evidence to support any wrongdoing on the part of Chief Ackley” and concluded that Mayor Daryl Justin Finizio will not be able to demonstrate that he has “just cause” to fire Ackley.

Attorney Kathleen Eldergill said in a report made public late Monday night that “there is no evidence her behavior justifies her dismissal.”

Finizio suspended Ackley in July citing 10 allegations against the chief, including claims she interfered in police union business and contract negotiations, misrepresented financial information, and targeted union members for discipline while refusing to discipline political allies.

Eldergill’s 15-page report addresses all 10 of the allegations Finizio cited in his order suspending Ackley. While her report cites significant deficiencies within the department — including underfunding, understaffing and “a long-term, deep-seated animosity on the part of some members of the department towards Chief Ackley” — Eldergill found no evidence to substantiate any of Finizio’s claims.

Eldergill did not find any evidence that Ackley “acted to subvert the authority of the mayor to...hire new police personnel” or misrepresented the department’s finances or the cost of the proposed union contract.

Further, Ackley’s statement that the new police union contract would “cost tax payers more than [a] million dollars” was fairly accurate, Eldergill found, citing documentation showing the mayor’s office estimated the two-year contract would require an additional $875,000 over two fiscal years.

Ackley’s claim that the mayor’s budget for her department was underfunded and her assertion that she would not be able to use money put in a contingency fund by the City Council to hire new officers until Finizio gave her authorization was “an effort to communicate information important to securing proper funding for her department,” Eldergill wrote.

“The evidence I have reviewed demonstrates that these statements were not misrepresentations, but rather well-founded statements of fact recited by Chief Ackley,” she wrote. “Indeed, it appears that the department’s failure to hire police personnel, to the extent it occurred, was due to budgetary decisions made either by the mayor, or by the City Council, which had mandated minimum staffing of 80 officers but had not appropriated funds to hire those new personnel.”

Eldergill also found no evidence that Ackley “acted to subvert the authority of the mayor to negotiate contracts” and undermine the collective bargaining process that led to the current police union contract.

After she participated in two bargaining sessions, Finizio directed Ackley to have no further involvement when the union representatives indicated they would not negotiate with the chief at the table. After Finizio and Deputy Chief Peter Reichard reached a tentative agreement with union President Todd Lynch and Vice President Chuck Flynn, Ackley expressed her disapproval and ordered Reichard not to sign the agreement.

“It is undisputed that the union was unwilling to have Ackley participate in the process because it knew she was opposed too (sic) many of their demands and the mayor acquiesced to the union’s position in removing her from the negotiations,” Eldergill wrote. “As a result, Ackley had no input into the result that was achieved in spite of her substantial experience in successfully managing the department.”

Eldergill found no evidence that Ackley specifically targeted union members for discipline while excusing actions of her political allies within the department.

“I have found no evidence that discipline meted out to employees active in the union was unwarranted, inappropriate or disproportionate,” she wrote.

In a statement issued by the Finizio’s office, Law Director Jeffrey T. Londregan said Ackley “will remain on paid administrative leave and the mayor’s prior standing orders to the chief shall remain in full force and effect” until April 30.

“The mayor has just reviewed the report for the first time; and while he completely respects Attorney Eldergill’s skills and abilities to perform this type of investigation, he needs time to properly review and analyze her findings to see if he concurs with all of her conclusions,” Londregan said in the statement.

Eldergill was hired by the City Council in February. Previously, Finizio had recommended the city spend $92,500 to have the former head of both the FBI and CIA conduct the investigation of Ackley’s conduct before instead assigning the city’s personnel administrator to investigate the chief.

It is unclear what, if anything, the personnel administrator’s investigation yielded.

Eldergill spent two months on the investigation and interviewed two dozen people including Ackley, Finizio, numerous police officers, police union leaders, Finance Director Jeff Smith and SailFest organizer Barbara Neff.

The Eldergill report was released publicly Monday following an executive session of the City Council. The closed-door meeting was to allow the council to see the report and discuss legal issues involving Ackley. Ackley has a pending breach of contract lawsuit against Finizio and the city for the contract she signed in 2011 that was later rejected by the City Council.

Ackley has claimed that since the lawsuit was filed she has been sidelined by the mayor from her duties as police chief.

c.young@theday.com

g.smith@theday.com

Twitter: @ColinAYoung

Twitter: @SmittyDay