Adams Selectmen File Ethics Complaint Against Melville
Updated March 1, 2011 at 9:14 p.m.Selectwoman Paula Melville said Tuesday that she did nothing wrong and is confident that an independent investigation by the state Ethics Commission will clear her name.
"I welcome an investigation by the Ethics Commission," Melville said in a brief statement to the press. "I'm going to continue to do the job I was elected to do."
File Photo
Selectwoman Paula Melville is accused of illegally releasing confidential budget information to department heads.
|
"The town has been put in legal jeopardy. There are violations of Massachusetts laws," Selectman Scott Nichols said. "We've tried to be clear with Paula and the selectmen's procedures. We did everything we can to give her the guidelines."
Melville is accused of revealing the contents of the town administrator's preliminary budget to town department heads and workers — including likely cuts that would affect employees' jobs.
According to Selectmen Chairman Michael Ouellette, the budget was released to board members Friday night for review before it was to be publicly presented on Tuesday. Melville took information and gave it to department heads and town employees despite unresolved collective bargaining issues, said board members.
Town Administrator Jonathan Butler is the only one authorized to discuss bargaining with the public unions. Butler said he had plans to meet with affected employees but Melville beat him to the punch.
Melville did not attend Monday's meeting but the Selectmen said she was notified by a deputy sheriff after repeated phone calls and e-mails were not returned. Melville signed the affidavit from the sheriff saying she received notification of the meeting and knew what it was about.
The meeting had only one agenda item: "Discussion of Charges/Allegations concerning Member Paula Melville."
"Unfortunately, Mrs. Melville is not here to defend herself," Ouellette said. "It's my presumption that she chose not to be here."
The allegations stem from Melville upsetting Council on Aging Director Erica Samson by revealing proposed budget cuts to the organization. She also made comments to members of the clerical bargaining unit outside of the presence of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union, which violates state law.
"I want to apologize to the Council on Aging director," Selectman Jason Hnatonko said. "It is a shame that it happened."
According to Ouellette, Melville's actions caused a day's worth of work for the town administrator, Selectmen and the town's attorney to rectify. The town spent $1,300 in legal fees to develop the proper actions to take, he said.
But it was not just the day of work. Board members said her actions have caused long-term problems for the town, particularly by burning strong relationships the town administrator has formed with town departments and unions.
"We have people on the board trying to destroy that," Nichols said. "We have a board member that won't follow procedure."
Hnatonko said the atmosphere among town employees was improving but Melville's actions eroded that in "one swoop."
The board voted unanimously on multiple motions to rectify Melville's actions. Melville will not be allowed to enter town department premises without the express permission of the town administrator - this does not include the library, public areas of Town Hall, the police station or the Parks and Recreation Department. Violation of the ban would be trespassing, according to the board.
The board also voted to disavow her comments to the members of the union, report her actions to the state's Ethics Commission and to order her to not discuss town business with town employees or department heads without permission.
"There may be other people that she spoke to," Selectman Arthur "Skip" Harrington said. "It's totally inappropriate."
The town's attorney also recommended some rights for Melville including the right to respond, which she did not take advantage of Monday. She also had the right to have an attorney present and her own recording of the discussion but no attorney nor personal recording equipment were present.
Another item of violation was still confidential and without Melville present to approve dealing with it in public, it must be handled in executive session. The board will address that issue on Thursday.
The Selectmen had previously held public discussions accusing Melville of going rogue by writing letters to agencies and demanding information as a representative of the town without board approval and trying to micromanage town departments. A workshop meeting this past Wednesday was designed to review the role of board members and governmental ethics.
Motions Against Adams Selectwoman Paula Melvile
