The State Ethics Commission wasn’t on the fence about this punishment.

A foreman of a town’s maintenance department has paid a $10,000 fine to the Bay State after he used town resources to replace a fence on his property.

Christopher Vincent, foreman of Carver’s operations and maintenance (O&M) department, paid the $10,000 civil penalty for violating the conflict of interest law, according to the Massachusetts Ethics Commission.

“When public employees misuse public resources to benefit themselves, they cheat the public and erode its confidence in the integrity of public service,” said State Ethics Commission Executive Director David Wilson.

“Town-owned resources, such as materials, vehicles, and public employee worktime, are to be used for public purposes, not private benefit,” Wilson added.

Two years ago, Vincent recommended to his direct supervisor — the O&M deputy director — that O&M replace a fence made of wooden telephone poles on Vincent’s property. His property next to a cranberry bog has an assessed value of $768,900, according to the town assessor’s online database.

The O&M deputy director agreed to Vincent’s request, and then Vincent directed two of the department’s workers to replace the fence using new pressure-treated wood.

Last January, the O&M employees removed the old fence and installed the new fence during their public worktime — using more than $500 worth of town materials, which they transported to Vincent’s property in a town-owned truck.

The fence work took the two employees 1.5 public workdays. Based on their salaries, the combined value of the two employees’ town work time was about $573.

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“The conflict of interest law prohibits public employees from participating officially in matters in which they know they have a financial interest,” the State Ethics Commission wrote. “The law also prohibits public employees from using their official positions to obtain valuable unwarranted privileges for themselves or others.

“Vincent’s actions in causing O&M to replace his fence at the town’s expense violated both of these prohibitions,” the commission added.

Earlier this year, the commission entered into a disposition agreement with Carver Operations and Maintenance Deputy Director John Woods. He admitted to violating the conflict of interest law by authorizing the use of town resources to replace Vincent’s fence.