LOUISVILLE — With two years left on his term, the Louisville highway superintendent has tendered his resignation because of what he says is a “toxic work environment.”
William P. Shirley delivered his Nov. 3 resignation letter to Louisville Town Board members, telling them he would be leaving his elected position later this month.
“My final day of employment will be Friday, November 21, 2025 ending at 3:30 pm,” Shirley said in his letter. “I apologize to the townspeople who voted me into this position, for not completing my term. I feel that I have no other option but to leave at this time.”
He said his decision to leave was based on his interaction with one employee.
“The continuation of the toxic work environment brought on by one employee in the highway department has made this job something I no longer want to do,” Shirley said. “I do not stand alone with this problem. There have been three other employees in the highway department, besides me, who have had the same issues with this employee, their complaints were also brushed aside, and they had resigned for the same reason.”
He said he was advised by the employees who had resigned that the individual made threats about “firing their lazy ass when he is the boss.”
“This was not made in jest,” Shirley said. “The constant belittling, intimidating, and making statements about what he is going to do when he’s the boss has forced men to make life altering decisions that have affected their career, family and quality of life. These decisions were not made lightly. They had no desire to work under or with this person.”
He said he has talked with the heads of other highway departments in neighboring towns.
“They have advised me of this employee making derogatory comments about myself and the way I perform my duties on multiple occasions,” Shirley said.
He said the “final straw” that convinced him to resign was when he noticed his salary was being reduced during a budget hearing. He alleged that Town Supervisor Larry Legault told him he “wasn’t working hard enough and was supposed to be a working superintendent.” He said that wasn’t correct.
“I advised Mr. Legault that I did get in a plow truck once when I first started, and this employee in question called the Union on me. I drove a requested piece of equipment over to the arena to help arena staff and got another call to the Union. I moved a small branch out of the road on a non-workday and had yet another call to the Union from this employee,” Shirley said.
He said he also worked alongside others when needed, “as well as all the planning, ordering items, organizing, scheduling, phone calls, meetings, checking roads daily and paperwork I had to do.”
“I later was advised by a Town Board member that the actual reason for the reduction in salary had nothing to do with my work performance but was an attempt to remove my stipend for not being under the town’s health insurance program,” Shirley said.
He alleged that Legault was aware of the issue “and chose not to intervene.”
Legault said that because it was a personnel matter he was unable to discuss it.
“It does get into personnel, which I really don’t want to make any comments on it. That was his choice to decide to resign for those reasons he wrote in his letter,” Legault said.
Legault said the town’s deputy highway superintendent will likely take Shirley’s place.
“We’ll make that decision at our next board meeting, which will be on Wednesday, the 12th,” he said.
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