City officials have declined to confirm or deny reports that Kenneth Frazer, above, the city’s director of animal control operations, has been placed on administrative leave. (File Photo by Carl E. Hartdegen)
WESTFIELD – Neither Westfield Mayor Daniel M. Knapik nor Karin Decker, the city’s assistant personnel director, would confirm or deny reports that Kenneth Frazer, the director of animal control operations for the city, has been placed on administrative leave.
Both city officials said they could not discuss personnel issues.
A person close to the situation who was not authorized to release information said that Frazer has been placed on administrative leave but declined to elaborate.
Decker did not explain when asked why she felt it necessary to ask the police department for an officer to attend a meeting she had with Frazer at the Westfield Animal Shelter Wednesday afternoon.
KENNETH FRAZER
Officer Allen Magdycz reports “everyone was professional” at the meeting.
A report received at The Westfield News three weeks ago that Frazer had been suspended seemed to have been disproved, at the time, when Frazer denied it and continued to perform his duties.
However, his absence at the shelter Thursday lends credence to the more recent report.
Volunteers at the shelter did not explain his absence but animal control officer Kerri Francis was in evidence, directing the day-to-day tasks of the department.
Frazer was hired as the city’s animal control officer in 2006 and later became the director of animal control operations after Francis was hired as a part-time animal control officer.
His contract expires in June.
He had previously served as the animal control officer in Southwick where, with his wife Pat, he had been instrumental in developing the animal control operation there.
Pat Frazer, who succeeded her husband as Southwick’s animal control officer, was advised that her services were no longer needed and her contract was not renewed in September, 2007.
