A feud in a small Massachusetts town that sprouted after a new town administrator ordered the police chief to remove a Trump flag from his department continues to fester. Attorney John J. Clifford has claimed the board is set to “terminate” his client Town Administrator James Ryan,

WEST BOYLSTON — Officials are dismissing claims by the town administrator's lawyer that the decision to fire James Ryan has been made before a scheduled hearing about the handling of a Trump flag being displayed inside the police station. Ryan has been criticized by the police chief and others for apparently ordering that the flag be removed.

A lawyer for the West Boylston town administrator claims it's a "foregone conclusion" his client will be fired by the select board Monday, which the board's chair denies.

At issue is a dispute between long-standing Police Chief Dennis W. Minnich Sr. and newly hired Town Administrator James J. Ryan. After a recent tour of the police station, the administrator asked the chief to remove a Trump flag he saw in a nonpublic area of the station.