Clarksburg Board Violated Open Meeting Law
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CLARKSBURG, Mass. — The attorney general's office has determined that the Board of Assessors violated Open Meeting Law by taking action without properly posting a meeting notice in advance.
Debora Lefave, a former selectman, filed the complaint in mid-August. The opinion was rendered on Friday by Assistant Attorney General Mark M. Higgins.
The complaint was prompted by a discussion and motion to appoint Ross Vivori as assistant assessor at a July 15 meeting of the Board of Selectmen.
At the time, Selectmen Chairman Carl McKinney was also an assessor and Town Administrator Thomas Webb was principal assessor, thus comprising a quorum of the Board of Assessors.
In responding to the complaint, the Board of Selectmen described the meeting as a "conversation between the Town Administrator and the Chair of the Select Board on the best way to move forward [to enact recommendations regarding personnel suggested by the DOR report]" They further argued that according to the town's Employee Handbook, the Selectmen are responsible for appointing town officers, including the assistant assessor.
The attorney general's office agreed on the appointing power, but opined "The presence of Webb and McKinney constituted a quorum of the Board of Assessors. See G.L.c.30A, §18. That quorum's communication on public business within its jurisdiction constituted a deliberation, which may only occur during a properly posted meeting."
The board had also indicated to those in attendance that no further business would be undertaken other than review of applications for a highway job but then initiated the assessor discussion before adjourning. "We strongly urge public bodies to honor such representations to the public in the interests of transparency," Higgin's decision states.
Town officials had been warned by the Department of Revenue that a town administrator should not also function as the principal assessor. McKinney's role as assessor has also been questioned as a possible ethics violation.
"While we acknowledge the necessity at time for town officers to hold multiple positions, we encourage both the Select Board and the Board of Assessors to be mindful that the concentration of multiple roles in a few persons may cause conflicts with Open Meeting Laws," reads the opinion.
The board took immediate action upon receiving Lefave's complaint. McKinney resigned and as did Webb once a new principal assessor was appointed, and legal postings soliciting new members for the Board of Assessors were posted. Vivori was appointed principal assessor (he is also principal assessor for the city of North Adams) and last week Alan Reutlinger and Tracy Pierce were appointed to the Board of Assessors.
The attorney general's office ordered "future compliance" with the Open Meeting Law and that Board of Assessors minutes be created and adopted for the July 15 meeting, "functionally a joint meeting of the two bodies."
"We know consider this complaint addressed by this determination to be resolved."
Tags: assessors, attorney general, open meeting complaint,
