Former Town Accountant Elizabeth Zaleski, who was fired in April after an audit revealed a $919,000 discrepancy in the town's books, has settled with the town.

In return for an agreement to immediately resign, she was reinstated and will receive a sum of $42,500 in addition to full pay for the weeks between her April firing and July 29 resignation.

The July 29 settlement agreement also contains a "non-disparagement" clause, prohibiting Zaleski and town officials from talking about the settlement. The commitment to say only "no comment" would appear to bind both the three Selectmen who signed the agreement and the two who did not.

The settlement comes nearly five months after Town Administrator Mark Andrews issued a press release announcing Zaleski's termination after the draft financial audit conducted by independent auditor Powers & Sullivan revealed the $919,000 discrepancy.

Four days after the announcement, Zaleski's lawyer, John Clifford, called for a public hearing on the termination, saying "due process" was not followed. The public hearing is required per the Town Charter.

At the hearing on May 19, James Powers of Powers & Sullivan testified the $919,000 discrepancy stemmed from Zaleski not properly reconciling the town's books.

Andrews served as the hearing officer, though Zaleski's attorneys argued that, as the person who fired her, he should not preside over the hearing. Andrews denied the request.

Zaleski's attorneys contested the firing with the intent to show wrong doing on the town’s end.

After four hours of questioning, the hearing was continued to a later date. However, in a letter dated July 29, Andrews confirmed the details of a settlement agreement with Clifford without any such hearing.

The settlement indicated that Zaleski would resume her position as town accountant with the agreement that she would resign as of July 29 with a $42,500 severance payment.

Part of the settlement was the “non-disparagement” agreement to “not make any public remarks that portray the other party in a negative or unfavorable light” and to make no comment on the "basis for the settlement or on any inference to be drawn from the settlement."

Selectmen Ellen Begley, Walter Cruz, and Michael Schneider signed the agreement. However, it appears to prevent all town employees, including the remaining two Selectmen, Steve Holmes and Cara Winslow, from making public comment.

As for the $919,000, it is unclear how much of that money has been located. The independent auditors are continuing their work.

Zaleski was hired by Interim Town Administrator John Sanguinet in July of 2009 at a rate of $64,864 per year, according to her three-year contract with the town. Her salary was raised to $68,814 per year last July.

Zaleski was hired despite not meeting the minimum qualifications for the position as listed in the job posting. Zaleski does not have a bachelor's degree, but her contract required her to obtain one in business administration, accounting, or a related field. It also allowed her to miss up to a half-day of work per week without the loss of pay to attend classes. It is unclear how close Zaleski was to getting a degree.

During his reports to the Board of Selectmen, Andrews frequently praised Zaleski for resolving many of the financial problems listed by the state Department of Revenue in a review of the town's financial management completed in July 2010.