A new sexual harassment training program for Westbrook firefighters would be the latest expense incurred by the city as a result of an investigation into complaints about the hostile environment in the department made by two female firefighters.

The City Council will vote Monday to authorize $20,000 to be used for the training from the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, based in Portland.

City Administrator Jerre Bryant said the training, which would likely begin this summer, would be a new approach taken by the city to tackle the long-running issues with inappropriate behavior in the department.

Bryant said the department has received special sexual harassment training since the Maine Human Rights Commission in 2003 ruled in favor of Kathy Rogers, who claimed she was subjected to lewd, sexist comments and threats from her fellow firefighters.

That training, Bryant said, was conducted by attorneys and geared toward educating members of the department about what behavior was legally appropriate. However, he said, as is evident from the more recent complaints from Rogers and firefighter Lisa Theberge, which led to the punishment of seven members of the department in December, that approach didn’t work.

“It hasn’t achieved the changes in workplace behavior we need to achieve,” he said.

The most recent development in the aftermath of the city’s investigation into the women’s complaints came last month, when state arbitrators overturned the city’s punishment of a lieutenant in the department. Donald Trafford, who had been demoted to firefighter, was reinstated as a lieutenant.

Rogers and Theberge, who went on leave in October 2008, still have not returned to work. Bryant declined to comment on whether they would return after the training was complete.

In a letter to Bryant, Steve Wessler, executive director of the Center for the Prevention of Hate Violence, said he planned to meet with members of the department individually and in small groups in order “to identify the range of issues involving bias or harassment which exist in the department and to strategize ways to create a more safe and respectful climate.”

After those meetings, which Wessler said he would expect to complete in August, he said he would use the information gathered to decide how to proceed from there.

Wessler charges an hourly rate of $225 for himself, and $175 for the two colleagues who may assist him. Bryant said because he does not know how long the training will take, it could end up costing more than $20,000, and any additional funding needed would have to be approved again by the council.

Bryant said, rather than focusing on past incidents, he hopes this training will put a more positive spin on what needs to happen moving forward to “make it a better workplace for everyone,” not just the people who have complained.

Fire Chief Daniel Brock said he planned to meet with Wessler this week to find out more about the training, but said he is hopeful that the new approach will be successful.

“One of the difficulties is that these people work together for 24 hours at a time,” Brock said. “It’s almost like family issues that come up.”

Council President Brendan Rielly said, like any taxpayer should, he expects there to be no more inappropriate incidents in the department after the training is complete.

“If there are, they should be addressed severely,” he said.