HARTLAND -- Longtime Town Manager Peggy Morgan, who has been out on medical leave for cancer treatment since Sept. 4, was fired from her job during an illegally held selectmen's meeting on Tuesday.

But selectmen backtracked on the vote on Wednesday, acknowledging that it wasn't proper. Selectmen have made no decisions and want to discuss Morgan's position, possibly at a public meeting next week, said First Selectman Harry Gould, who acknowledged "it was illegal" to call an unannounced meeting and vote.

But earlier in the day Wednesday, employees at the town office were under the impression that Morgan had been fired. Deputy Treasurer-Tax Collector Susan Frost, who has been named the interim town manager, confirmed that selectmen had told them Morgan "was terminated" as town manager.

Morgan, in an interview Wednesday, said she was upset with the selectmen's handling of the situation. Now recovered from her cancer treatment, Morgan had told the selectmen she wanted to return to work. They said no.

"I'm not too pleased with it," Morgan said. "Of course, it upsets me."

The misunderstanding complicates a dire situation already facing the Hartland town government: $1.2 million in debt, of which $400,000 is needed as soon as possible to pay School Administrative District 48. The town doesn't have the money to pay the bill.

Selectmen blame the town's financial crisis on municipal miscalculations. The town didn't assess high enough taxes on some properties to cover its expenses, they say.

In previous meetings, selectmen have said that Morgan is not guilty of wrongdoing or mismanagement. But she might have been too compassionate in not wanting to raise taxes, and therefore misjudging the town's finances.

According to the town's latest annual report, Morgan is paid $44,512 a year.

Morgan said that when she brought a back-to-work slip to the town offices at The Academy, selectmen immediately went into executive session to discuss the matter, even though they hadn't given public notice of a meeting. Morgan said she noted that that "wasn't quite kosher."

In fact, it was a violation of Maine state law. Public notice is required for all public proceedings, even if board members voted to enter executive session to privately discuss personnel matters.

After coming out of executive session, two of the selectmen voted "that I was not coming back," Morgan said, and the third "voted no, because he didn't know why we were here."

Why didn't the selectmen want Morgan back on the job?

"All of a sudden I was to blame for all the (financial) problems, which is just like somebody kicked me right in the stomach," Morgan said. Noting that she was not previously reprimanded by the selectmen, "I didn't even catch this coming at me. It was a very tiring day for me."

Gould verified the outlines of the meeting: "I told her she wasn't coming back."

Although he said he did not want to discuss a personnel issue, Gould said "the town is in the right direction now and we cannot go back to where we were two months ago."

Asked if the decision was based on the town's financial crisis, Gould said, "Yes, it does."

"That's the big issue," Gould said. "We're in a very bad situation right now, actually on a lot of fronts. I don't want to place the blame on anybody."

Gould, though, acknowledged "it was illegal" to call an impromptu meeting and vote, and "I accept the responsibility for that. In hindsight, I guess we could have done it differently."

Selectman Greg Tasker declined to comment on the situation because it's a personnel matter, saying only that "it's kind of got strewn out of control here a little bit."

Morgan still wants to return as town manager and is pressing her case. Thanks to her treatment, the cancerous tumor that was lodged beneath her ear is now gone, she said.

Morgan said she has contacted the Maine Human Rights Commission and is seeking an attorney for advice about whether she should attend another meeting with the selectmen to discuss her job.

"When you have worked hard all your life and you find yourself counting the tiles on the floor, it's not a healthy situation; you need to be doing something," said Morgan, who's been town manager since 1979. "It's been my life; that's what I've given my life to."

Scott Monroe -- 487-3288, 861-9253

smonroe@centralmaine.com