City accepts resignation from Director of Housing Stability after negotiating $57K settlement

MANCHESTER, NH – A termination meeting for Director of Housing Stability Adrienne Beloin scheduled for Thursday at 4:30 p.m. was officially canceled about 15 minutes before it was to start after an agreement was reached between attorneys representing both the city and Beloin, who has instead resigned.

The terms of the agreement [see below] include $25,000 in compensatory damages, $27,064.35 in wages and $5,000 in attorney fees for a total of $57,064.35.

The mayor’s office issued the following statement late Thursday:

“The personnel matter has been resolved and the Mayor has received Ms. Beloin’s resignation effective tomorrow, April 12^th, 2024.  The Mayor will not be commenting on personnel matters.”

Beloin was prepared to be heard publicly during the meeting, called for by Mayor Jay Ruais on April 5, who cited “an unproductive working relationship” with Beloin that had become “unsalvagable.”

She was officially placed on paid administrative leave as noted in the letter from Ruais, which followed a contentious Board of Aldermen meeting on April 2 and then a radio interview with Beloin on WFEA, a morning talk show with journalist Andrew Cline.

During that interview Cline asked Beloin about action taken by the board – to move her office to the emergency shelter while they’re in the process of turning operations over to a non-profit; and to give oversight of all shelter policy to the Special Committee on Alcohol, Other Drugs and Youth going forward.

“They’re saying it’s because they believe the operation needs more oversight and that is not at all the truth – and they don’t believe that, either. They have no information provided to them that indicates that it needs more oversight. We have had no issues, we have had no incidents, we’ve never had a discussion – the mayor has never had a discussion with me about lack of oversight at the shelter,” Beloin said during the radio interview.

In the aftermath, the city hired outside council to negotiate a settlement with Beloin through her attorney.

Below is a copy of the settlement: