MAXTON — The town’s embattled manager has resigned.
Mayor Emmett Morton confirmed Friday that Kate Bordeaux had turned in her letter of resignation on Thursday at 5 p.m. to himself and Virgil Hutchinson, the mayor pro tem.
“Kate has done a great job for the town of Maxton,” Morton said. “She has done great things for Maxton: grants to improve our water and sewer system, paving our streets, saving our library board, working to bring our reserve funds up and back to a great place. Her fairness to treat all citizens equal. Her resignation will set projects and grants progress back six months to a year.
“I wish her well and pray for our town,” he added.
He said that Bordeaux will honor her contract, which provides for notice, and work through May 13. During that time, Bordeaux will be working with town leaders to ensure a smooth transition, Morton said. The town also will be working the North Carolina League of Municipalities on the possibility of finding an interim manager if one is needed.
Bordeaux could not be reached for comment.
The outgoing manager had been the target of growing criticism from residents since last fall. Most recently, she had become embroiled in a controversy concerning the firing of police Capt. Jaime Oxendine for alleged misuse of the Criminal Justice Law Enforcement Automated Data Service.
Residents say the firing was unjustified. Bordeaux says the firing was justified and Oxendine was dismissed after an investigation was conducted. The North Carolina Police Benevolence Association has entered the fray, working to get Oxendine’s job back.
Town residents also blame Bordeaux for the resignation in 2018 of former Police Chief Tammy Deese, who left to become a major in the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
About 50 town residents met on March 5 to discuss their concerns about Bordeaux and town government in general. Speakers at the meeting brought up the fact that Bordeaux does not live in the town she manages.
“The charter that governs the town states I don’t have to be a resident, but I do have to be available,” Bordeaux said at the time. “This is not unusual.”
During the Maxton Board of Commissioners’ October meeting it was revealed that Bordeaux once went by the name Katie Alley, and that she had been fired as general manager of the ABC Board in Guilford County. Bordeaux said the name she uses now is her legal name.
There were other complaints, including that she took her dog to work, and worked short hours.
Bordeaux had plenty of support, not only from Morton but other commissioners. They said she had permission to live out of town and to bring her small dog to work, and many of the problems were because she was making necessary and painful changes that were overdo.
Residents also argued she was not properly vetted, and that if she had been, her issues in Guilford County would have surfaced.
Back in March, Morton defended the process used to hire Bordeaux.
“All applicants go through the application process and after you pick the person they have to receive a background check done by our attorney,” he said. “She had a full background check.”
Bordeaux was making about $65,000 a year, and her contract extended into 2021.
T.C. Hunter can be reached at 910-816-1974 or [email protected].