NORTH ATTLEBORO - The board of public works has asked the state Attorney General's Office to investigate whether Town Administrator Judith Robbins violated open meeting rules in connection with a public works manager who left to join the electric department for more money.

The public works board alleges information was improperly leaked from an executive session meeting.

Robbins maintains she shared only information she learned outside of executive session to verify it was accurate, and denies doing anything improper.

The controversy relates to the board of public work's efforts to retain Gene Allen, then assistant public works director.

The board was attempting to negotiate a pay raise for Allen, who had a job offer in Fairhaven. However, before the negotiations were completed, Allen accepted a higher paying job at North Attleboro Electric. Allen was a member of the United Steelworkers Union, which has two separate units because of differing rules about overtime pay for certain employees. Allen was a member of Unit 2, which was involved in negotiating the raise.

Both sides agree Robbins asked the assistant to the town administrator, a member of Unit 1, whether a meeting had been scheduled to discuss an ongoing side negotiation.

Robbins and the board of public works disagree about whether she had the right to do so.

Michael Thompson, chairman of the board of public works, declined comment on the dispute, saying the letter to the Attorney General's Office speaks for itself.

The letter states: "It appears as early as the next day, the acting Town Administrator shared this information with another member of the United Steelworkers Union, Local 16031, who was not a part of executive session. We believe that conveyance of this sensitive information at the time was inappropriate, and not allowed under the guidelines of Mass. General Law."

Robbins said she only shared information provided to her prior to the executive session - and only asked whether the union had scheduled a meeting with its entire membership to discuss the issue.

"First of all, Mike Thompson came to see me before the executive session, and discussed this," Robbins said. "When I attended the executive session, there was no new information that I had not learned outside the executive session.

"Second, I did not discuss any of the actual activities occurring in executive session," she said. "I had some concern about the veracity of what union people were telling me, and I simply asked whether the union had a meeting recently. I wanted to find out whether things that were told to the board of selectmen were true - and it turns out they were not."

While the board of public works believes the information should not have been shared with the other bargaining unit, Robbins said both units are part of the same union.

"It's all one union," she said. "A question arose about whether or not one unit has a right to make a binding agreement without the consent of the other unit. There are still differences of opinion on that." In his letter to the attorney general, Thompson said the release of the information stymied the negotiations and resulted in the town losing Allen as its assistant public works director.

The board of public works has not asked for particular sanctions, only for the attorney general's guidance on the issue.

AMY DeMELIA can be reached at 508-236-0334 or at ademelia@thesunchronicle.com.