BALD HEAD ISLAND, NC (WWAY) -- Bald Head Island residents say one man is tearing apart their small community. Last week the island's public safety chief resigned, which was the tipping point for residents to call for an investigation into their village manager, who they say is at the center of all their problems.
The quiet community of Bald Head Island is considered a paradise to many, but to its small population of residents, the resignation of their Public Safety Chief Jerome "Chip" Munna was a wake up call.
“To just rip him out of this community has just ripped the heart out of this community,” says Jane Oakley, a Bald Head Island homeowner. “We are upset about this.”
After 14 years of service and an internal investigation, Chief Munna resigned. Now Bald Head Island residents say it's all because of the village manager, Calvin Peck.
“It’s like an onion,” says Oakley. “If you peel back the layers of an onion to get to the truth, Calvin’s in the middle of it, in my opinion.”
For more than five years, Peck has served as village manager, and residents say there are numerous issues surrounding him. The most recent, and some say last straw, was Chief Munna's departure.
“That’s when we became politically active,” says Jane Johnson, another BHI resident.
Residents have organized a petition to investigate Peck and the many documented complaints from employees and homeowners, including issues like creating a hostile work environment and forcing employees to resign.
“I would like to see Calvin Peck gone and Chip returned to this island,” Oakley says.
In April, Peck received the "Outstanding Manager" award by the Cape Fear Council of Governments.
Residents plan to present the petition to village council during their September 21 meeting. We reached out to Peck, but he has not returned our request for comment.
False statement
they are required to hold a position for you while you are on workers compensation leave due to injuries. The exception would be a case where the injured employee has injuries so severe he or she will never be able to return to any kind of employment, even if it is just sitting at a desk and sharpening pencils. Then the insurance carrier makes an adjustment based on total disability; and both parties then go their seperate ways.
Talented he is
I will tell you from first hand experience that Calvin is very skilled at finding the loopholes to employment laws and is fantastic at skating the line of what is legal and what is ethical in my opinion. Knowing him the way I do, he probably had a basis for terminating this employee legally even if it was not right ethically. That's his style.
You're on the scene
and I am not yet.
But no one is foolish enough to fire an employee for placing a workers compensation claim for job related injuries.
Were the personnel folder opened, I am certain you will find another reason listed for termination.
On another note, it will be challenging to take action against a Manager who has just been named Manager of the Year or whatever that title was he received. If the Council decides to take action, look for a financial settlement to close out the contract in place.