Former town employee Bob Burns may be after more than just his old job.

First Selectmen Michael Freda said April 13 that Burns had “rejected the terms of the town’s offer,” delaying a town meeting to vote on the reinstatement of Burns’ former engineer-two position. Burns’ attorney Chip Walsh of Licari, Walsh, and Sklaver in New Haven, clarified April 15 that his client rejected the offer because he wished to retain the rights to potentially bring additional actions against the town and former First Selectman Janet McCarty.

“The parties attempted to reach a resolution to resolve the issues at hand, and as part of the resolution, my client was required to waive certain rights he was unwilling to waive,” Walsh said when contacted. “This includes the right to bring action against the town and the former First Selectman for actions that took place well over a year ago.”

Walsh said the potential additional actions that Town Hall had asked Burns to waive included his union grievance, as well as a prohibitive practice complaint, which would allege that his state-guaranteed rights as a municipal employee had been violated by the elimination of his position.

Burns has alleged that his position was removed from the 2009-10 budget because he had previously made complaints to McCarty regarding the raises granted to other unions within town. Chapter 68, Section 5-272 of the General Statutes of Connecticut, “Collective Bargaining for State Employees,” states “Employers or their representatives or agents are prohibited from… discharging or otherwise discriminating against an employee because he has signed or filed any affidavit, petition or complaint or given any information or testimony.”

McCarty has said the removal of Burns’ $60,000-a-year position was a matter of redundancy and unbiased cost-cutting, as she claimed his duties could be shouldered by other town employees. Several residents have asked the Board of Selectmen within the last few months whether there was a desperate need to reinstate Burns’ position, especially amidst an already tight budget season, and a definitive response has not been given.

The Board of Selectman passed a motion on March 4, 2010 by a vote of 2-1 to warn a special town meeting on whether or not to reinstate Burns’ former position, which was eliminated with the passing of the 2009-10 town budget on March 18, 2009 by the Board of Finance.

On April 15, 2009, the Board of Finance had again voted down the reinstatement of Burns’ position. On May 4, 2009, the Board of Selectman voted against recognizing Burns’ petition for a special town meeting, even though the petition contained 24 signatures of town residents, surpassing the 20 signatures necessary for the petition to be recognized. McCarty and then-second selectman Steve Fontana voted against calling the meeting, while then-third selectman Freda voted for recognizing the petition, so the March 4, 2010 vote overturned a year’s worth of votes by both the Board of Finance and the previous Board of Selectmen.

In response, Walsh filed for a writ of mandamus to request that a higher court overrule the May 4 decision denying the petition for a town meeting. On Sept. 30, 2009, New Haven judge Robert Berdon denied former town attorney Richard Parrett’s attempt to quash the application for mandamus, pushing the case toward a potential trial.

Walsh said April 15 that the town’s offer had included holding the special town meeting, as well as waiving the rights Burns does not wish to waive. “We will continue to pursue matters as they’re currently pending,” Walsh added.

Walsh said he was unsure of the timetable regarding the case.