Griswold to bond entire amount in Charron deal

Griswold - Expressing concern about possible "gaps" in next year's budget, town officials decided Thursday to bond the entire $460,000 to pay the town's portion of the settlement to former selectmen's secretary Andrea Charron in her wrongful-firing lawsuit against the town.

The payment is due to Charron by March 31.

The boards of selectmen and finance voted to approve the bonding at the start of a joint meeting to discuss next year's proposed budget.

Board of Finance member Joseph Przylucki said he preferred to bond the entire settlement amount rather than spend a portion of the town's surplus on the settlement. The surplus was depleted last year to help hold down a tax increase. The surplus now stands at about $4.4 million, 7 percent of the town budget - just above the minimum recommended amount.

Director Barbara Richardson-Crouch said if the town used the surplus fund to pay the settlement, it would bring the surplus to within $300,000 of the town's minimum balance policy. The level would be noted in an audit, and it could hurt the town's bond rating, she said.

Richardson-Crouch said she expects to obtain a two-year bond at an interest rate no higher than 1 percent for the settlement. She told the boards she could not give an exact amount until she obtains bond bids. She plans to contact local banks as well as larger banks to solicit bids. She also said the town earns slightly more than that in invested surplus funds.

The town and Charron reached a settlement in December that calls for paying Charron $900,000, rather than the $1.3 million ordered by New London Superior Court following a jury ruling in Charron's favor. Half of the settlement was paid by the town's insurance company, Connecticut Interlocal Risk Management Agency, leaving the town to pay $450,000.

First Selectman Philip Anthony, Jr. said the additional $10,000 to be bonded would cover legal or administrative costs.

According to the settlement, $400,000 will be placed in an annuity that will pay Charron monthly stipends over 20 years. Including interest earned, she would receive $630,870 over that time.

Charron sued the town in 2006 claiming she was harassed and wrongfully fired in violation of state whistleblower laws. A New London Superior Court jury ruled in her favor in August 2008, and Judge Susan Peck calculated the total judgment at $1.3 million last summer in wages, benefits, attorney fees, damages to her reputation and "enjoyment of life," punitive damages and court costs.

c.bessette@theday.com