A group of Rockland individuals has started two online petition campaigns with one goal: To terminate the city’s employment of City Manager James Chaousis.

The group, calling itself Campaign to Improve Rockland City Government, circulated a press release today, Jan. 25, with links to Change.org, an activists’ website that hosts online petitions.

The group has posted two petitions, one for Rockland residents that asks for signatures on a document that says: “We, the undersigned residents of Rockland, Maine, have no confidence in Rockland City Manager James Chaousis II, and call for the termination of his contract.”

The nonresident petition states: “ While we are not residents of Rockland, we submit that actions taken by the Rockland City Manager and City Council at times affect others in the surrounding communities. Our concerns include, but are not limited to, the recent handling of the firing of Rockland City Harbormaster Ed Glaser. We support the petition by the residents of Rockland expressing a vote of no confidence in Rockland City Manager James Chaousis II, and calling for the termination of his contract.”

The group’s press release did not include names, except for that of campaign member Debby Atwell. The group’s spokesperson is identified as Patti Spaulding, of Thomaston. The group said at the Change.org site that it would also circulate hard-copy petitions.

“Two or three weeks ago, we had a meeting, and in less than 24 hours, 10 people showed up, mostly people from Rockland distraught by decisions made by the city manager,” said Spaulding in a phone conversation. “I became involved when was fired and I’ve been a member of the boating community for over two decades. I’ve known Ed since he started and I just think it’s shameful the way he has been treated. He has gone above and beyond, and has also been available, like getting up on the roof and fixing it so the city wouldn’t have to pay for it.”

In the release, Atwell said: “In the past 11 months, since Mr. Chaousis became Rockland’s city manager, we have seen him fast-track a power plant, ignore the city charter to make himself an assistant city manager. He has repaid funds he took while town manager in Boothbay and been censured for ethics violations by the International City/County Management Association. Many city employees have been fired or laid off while still others have quit. The recent firing of the beloved and widely respected Harbormaster Ed Glaser, days before his retirement, has ignited a fierce local response.”

The release also said that the group is concerned about “recent meetings in which the city manager and council members discussed calling for ‘partnership’ with the local press,which hints at an unlawful desire to control the media's message. The Campaign to Improve Rockland City Government calls for transparency, accountability, fair community participation and rule of law. It denounces training in press relations, secret negotiations and spin doctors.”

In a Monday phone conversation, Chaousis said he self-reported the ethics violation.

The former Boothbay town manager was censured by the executive board of the International City/County Management Association (ICMA) during its Dec. 12 board meeting in Washington, D.C. The ICMA board censured Chaousis for violating three tenets of the organization’s Code of Ethics. Chaousis served as Boothbay town manager from November 2010 to March 2015, when he took the Rockland post.

In May 2015, a higher than normal cell phone bill led Boothbay selectmen to discover two unapproved cell phone lines were added to the town manager’s municipal account. On May 28, selectmen directed new Boothbay Town Manager Dan Bryer to send Chaousis a registered letter requesting payment.

The two unauthorized cell phone lines accumulated $4,388.38 in unauthorized charges dating back to 2011, according to the town auditor.

The ICMA said: “While serving as town manager, Boothbay paid $4,388 for cell phone services for Mr. Chaousis’ wife and daughter. Mr. Chaousis acknowledged he discovered the error shortly after accepting the Rockland position. However, he concealed knowledge of the error and made reimbursement only after Boothbay officials conducted an audit and sought reimbursement.”

On Dec. 28, Chaousis, an ICMA member, said he notified the association about the incident.

“After the article occurred in the Boothbay Register, I self-reported the incident,” Chaousis said, in a Dec. 28 article in the Boothbay Register. “It sounds like I’m going to be censured, and I accept that. I voluntarily submitted my situation for review because I want to be held to the highest ethical standards that all ICMA members are held to.”

As to the other criticisms leveled by the Campaign to Improve Rockland City Government group, Chaousis said: “Other than the harbor master, no one else has been fired. Some have been laid off for budget actions. Those are rough, tough to execute.”

On Jan. 8, City Manager James Chaousis informed Glaser following a disciplinary hearing that his termination followed a personnel investigation. The investigation had been conducted by Chaousis. A grievance panel consisting of three Rockland citizens and staff subsequently upheld Chaousis’ firing of Glaser following a 3.5-hour-appeal hearing Jan. 20. 

“We understand that there is some emotions tied to the recent activity within city hall,” Chaousis said, on Jan. 25.

“Change is hard,” he said. “I understand the local and emotional connection behind some of these changes, but we are going to roll up our sleeves and change things.... If we accept the old way, we will never change things.”

He said the goal in Rockland city government is to pursue “professional integrity, fiscal responsibility and general better government.”

Rockland City Council is responsible for hiring and firing city managers, according to the city charter. A petition can be submitted to the council, as a call to action.

The Facebook page of the group Campaign to Improve Rockland City Government provides updates of information and links. As of Monday afternoon, there were 15 signatures on the Change.org resident page and 10 signatures on the nonresident page.

Reach Editorial Director Lynda Clancy at lyndaclancy@penbaypilot.com; 207-706-6657