Montville — Waste Pollution Control Authority Administrator Brian Lynch and waste water treatment plant Superintendent Michael Didato will resign at the end of the month and take jobs in Putnam.

The resignations come after recent arguments between Lynch and councilors over purchasing policies and the amount of money WPCA pays the town for financial services, according to multiple town officials and emails obtained by The Day.

In a May 25 email, Lynch claimed Town Council members sought "to create a threatening, harassing and hostile work environment," which Town Council Chairman Tom McNally disputes.

Messages left for Lynch and Didato were not immediately responded to.

Lynch's last day will be June 30 and Didato will leave on June 26, per resignation letters submitted Tuesday to Mayor Ron McDaniel, obtained by The Day in a Freedom of Information Act request. Meeting minutes from the Putnam town website show on May 17, the Special Water Pollution Control Authority unanimously voted to hire Lynch as Water and Sewer Department superintendent and Didato as wastewater treatment plant manager.

Gary Murphy, chairman of Montville's Water and Sewer Commission, which has jurisdiction over its WPCA, said there has "been some bad blood between some members of the Town Council and Brian Lynch over the years. From what (Lynch) told me, he just felt it was probably best to move on and take the opportunity while he could."

Murphy described the resignations as a "tremendous loss" for Montville, saying the pair will be tough to replace and noting Didato was licensed to work on both sewer and water systems.

"They brought the Montville plant from a stinky, complaint-ridden plant to a class-A facility," he said. "We're going to be behind a little bit. We will definitely meet as a group and decide the best way to go."

Dispute over accounting responsibilities

In a May 25 email obtained by The Day Tuesday, Lynch told Finance Committee Chairman Wills Pike that he'd "repeatedly requested some sort of written, itemized accounting of the tasks completed by the Finance Office personnel for the WPCA."

"I am concerned by the fact that members of our current Town Council are seeking to create a threatening, harassing and hostile work environment," Lynch wrote, referencing a suggestion from McNally that the town take over WPCA's finances.

Such a move would shift accounting responsibility to the town for "everything — billing, collections, mailings, daily deposits, etc.," Lynch wrote.

On Monday, Lynch told the Water and Sewer Commission that he and Pike had finalized negotiations and he found $5,000 to be a reasonable amount covering annual payroll and other accounting services. The town usually seeks $10,000 from the WPCA for the services, officials said.

"He was a tough negotiator; so was I," Lynch said. "I think it's a fair amount of money."

In an interview Tuesday, McNally summarized the May email exchanges as, "He needs to pay some fair share or we'd just take over WPCA's finances. He said we were harassing them. He's overstepping his bounds."

McDaniel said the responsibilities for who performs accounting for the WPCA have "evolved over time," and "unfortunately, it was more, 'I want you to pay this' and 'I'm not going to pay anything.' At the end of the day, they met in the middle. It's over and done with."

Councilors question purchasing practices

McNally, a former WPCA assistant superintendent who settled a 2012 wrongful termination lawsuit he filed against the town, said councilors were pushing for more accountability from the WPCA and more open bids for town projects.

"You're going to follow the purchasing policy and town charter and be transparent," said McNally, who said the WPCA has otherwise "done a good job running the plant."

During a May 7 WPCA meeting discussion about a construction job on Maple Ave., Lynch said the project "would be done in-house at a cost savings." Councilor Jeff Rogers then referenced the town charter, transparency and the fair bid process, and Lynch responded that he'd "proceed with putting the project out to bid," per meeting minutes.

Murphy said for relatively small and emergency jobs in town, it made sense for WPCA to hire Uncasville-based P&H Construction, for instance, versus spending tens of thousands of dollars on engineering services before seeking bids. All major jobs go out to bid, Murphy and McDaniel said.

Murphy added that Town Council members are "not supposed to interfere with the day-to-day operations of any administrators. They're supposed to deal with the mayor, not any town employee."

McNally responded that it was impossible to conduct town business without some correspondence with department heads.

"We're talking with department heads every day," he said. "We can't tell them what to do but we certainly have the right to discuss stuff."

Resignation letters focus on positive plant developments

McDaniel said the resignations didn't come as a shock to him, noting other municipalities previously expressed interest in hiring Lynch and Didato. McDaniel and Murphy said they understood that Putnam had offered Lynch and Didato significant pay increases.

The mayor said he reviewed their job descriptions and will speak with Murphy about the interview process in the coming weeks. He noted that the recent arguments over accounting and bids were not in the resignation letters and "not what they told me" when they decided to resign.

"I have enjoyed my experience working for Montville for the last 10 years," Lynch wrote to McDaniel. "It has been an honor to work with so many talented and dedicated individuals both here at the plant and at the Town Hall. I can't help but feel a sense of pride when I reflect on how far the WPCA has come over this time span."

Didato said over the last 27 years, he's "seen and been part of many great upgrades and projects. I thank all of those whom participated."

Councilor Billy Caron said Lynch and Didato "absolutely turned the place around," in reference to the plant.

"They've done a phenomenal job in what they've done in producing and doing the right thing," he said.

McDaniel agreed that the pair "turned the WPCA around when it was really in trouble."

"The bottom line is we're losing two very seasoned and valuable employees," he said. "They will be hard shoes to fill, no doubt."

b.kail@theday.com