ALFRED — Acknowledging that he is, by statute, allowed to set the probate court’s schedule, York County commissioners Wednesday voted to “strongly recommend” that elected York County Judge of Probate Robert M.A. Nadeau revert to a former schedule to more efficiently process cases.

The recommendation came after county commissioners held a hearing Oct. 7 concerning Nadeau’s abrupt change of schedule in April, without consulting the probate court register or staff.

According to commissioners, based on figures prepared by Probate Register Carol Lovejoy, the court now has a backlog of cases, whereas, commissioners said, it didn’t before the scheduling change. Lovejoy testified during the Oct. 7 hearing that 787 cases were heard in 2012, 827 in 2013, and 802 in 2014. From Jan. 1 to Sept. 30 this year, 463 cases have been heard; for the same period in 2014, 620 cases were heard, she said.

The written report of findings notes a letter commissioners received from Maine Department of Health and Human Services Commissioner Mary Mayhew, who wrote that in prior years, the time an adoptive family would have to wait for a court date at the York County probate court was less than 90 days. Mayhew wrote that the York County Probate Court had not scheduled a single adoption in June, July or August, and noted adoption petitions filed in April were given court dates as far out as February 2016.

Nadeau testified at the Oct. 7 hearing, but did not attend Wednesday’s session where findings and recommendations were made.

The probate judge holds court eight days a month. For the past six years, court was conducted on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Following a budget meeting April 15, where Nadeau’s bid for more court days and a heftier salary was denied, he sent an email to Lovejoy instructing her to change the schedule to Mondays and Fridays. He sent another email instructing her to reduce the number of matters scheduled in increments throughout court days, set aside more time for walk-in emergencies and to block off a full half day every other court week so he could write decisions and address unscheduled court business.

In their findings, commissioners said the change was made deliberately; Nadeau’s email that ordered the court day change came at 12:07 a.m. April 16, just hours after the budget meeting where his bid for more court time and a larger salary was rejected by commissioners.

Nadeau had asked for either three days a week, and a salary of $90,000, or full-time, at $120,000, commissioners said during their meeting Wednesday.

He currently holds court two days a week. His present schedule is eight hours a day, eight days a month, according to a contract dated Dec. 18, 2012, and cited in the findings. His salary for the part-time judgeship had been about $48,500; it was increased to $54,200 by commissioners on April 15.

“The Monday/Friday schedule implemented by Judge Nadeau was solely in retaliation for our decision to deny his request for a pay raise,” their findings state. “The scheduling reduction by Judge Nadeau is having a serious impact on the users of the Court.”

Nadeau, at the Oct. 7 hearing, said that the probate register was cramming too many cases into the docket, and that he needed time to prepare, research and write decisions. He said he found Mondays and Fridays to be more efficient. He said the change did not require the register’s input.

“It’s the judge’s decision,” he said. Nadeau further stated that he knew that his scheduling order change gave the appearance of retaliation, but that was not his motivation. He said he believed something had to be done to deal with trial scheduling. He said some trials took months to conclude because of scheduling challenges.

Commissioners noted that Nadeau scheduled time off during national holidays that fall on his new schedule, six in all for 2015, even though, they wrote, it is against county policy to provide benefits to part-time employees.

The findings point out that in three cases, orders prepared by Nadeau included a sentence that included the name of the county commissioner in the district where the case originated, as well as the name and phone number of the county manager “opposing extra judicial funding.” Commissioners wrote that by doing so, Nadeau used his authority as a probate judge for political purposes.

Commissioners Wednesday voted to adopt the findings and agreed to include additional exhibits referenced in the document.

— Senior Staff Writer Tammy Wells can be contacted at 324-4444 (local call in Sanford) or 282-1535, ext. 327 or [email protected].