HAVERHILL — The town administrator, upon a leave placement and resignation, claimed that the Selectboard poorly handled municipal auditing. At a Monday meeting, the Chair read a letter from the town’s auditor stating he is not aware of any issues.
Town administrator Tom Galinat joined Haverhill back in December following a tumultuous departure from his predecessor, Brigitte Codling, who sued the town over mistreatment.
In a public statement at the meeting, Chair Vickie Wyman referred to Galinat as “former town administrator,” but declined Wednesday by phone to specify if his leave will surpass the resignation date of Sept. 4.
“We recognize that these reports may raise questions for residents,” the statement said, referring to recent public statements and news coverage of the administrator.
The situation includes personnel matters, and the Selectboard is obligated to respect confidentiality requirements, Wyman said at the meeting. As such, the Selectboard opted not to discuss the situation or deliberations publicly.
Wyman confirmed they would not initiate a public exchange to address issues, nor respond point by point to statements or allegations during the meeting.
At a 2025 town meeting, a petitioned article to spend $100,000 on a forensic audit of town finances passed to investigate spending from 2019 onward.
Galinat told the Valley News that the town had not properly carried out this audit, but declined to provide details.
Forensic auditor for Haverhill Scott Eagan wrote in an Aug. 11 letter that he has made no findings of concern nor reported any to Galinat. As such, he said there is no required action by the Selectboard at this time.
The town’s work so far has been consistent with procedures, Eagan wrote.
“And nothing in those procedures has produced issues that rise to the level of a formal finding,” said Eagan.
The audit remains ongoing, and Eagan will notify the board if there is a serious situation, though it may not be disclosed to the public until a final report is available.
Eagan has an on-site visit coming up next week. A primary focus of the visit will be to review tax sales and vendor payments, he wrote in the letter.
Earlier this month, the Selectboard placed Galinat on administrative leave one day before he tendered his resignation. In an initial interview with the Valley News, Galinat spoke positively of the Selectboard and said he chose to leave due to time constraints and interest in pursuing new opportunities. But following an Aug. 11 Journal Opinion article where Vice Chair Ron Hurlburt said that some people in town were unhappy with his performance, Galinat took back his positive comments.
In a subsequent phone interview, Galinat said that the real reason for his departure was that he had warned the town about bad practices when it came to audits and the forensic audit, and the Board didn’t take appropriate action. He believed his leave was punishment for bringing concerns to light.
Reached by phone last week, member Kevin Knapp declined to share the reason for Galinat’s administrative leave, but said its length was pending a conversation by the board.
