Adams Selectmen Track OML Complaints, Discuss Rising Cost
ADAMS, Mass. — The Selectmen reviewed a spreadsheet provided by the town's law firm, KP Law, detailing ongoing and closed Open Meeting Law (OML) complaints as well as the legal fees associated with them.
Interim Town Administrator Holli Jayko handed out the document to the board on Wednesday, highlighting that between OML complaints and public record requests, KP Law has charged the town approximately $24,000 through August 2025.
Selectwoman Christine Hoyt requested that all Open Meeting complaints be compiled on a spreadsheet so it would be easier to see which complaints are ongoing, closed, or dismissed. She noted that she had requested the document months ago.
"I asked for this to be on the agenda about five months ago," Hoyt said. "I thought it was our responsibility to report back to the public. When an Open Meeting Law violation comes forward, we have to publicly accept it. Then there's a lot of time that goes by before it is cleared, and there hasn't been a mechanism in which we have reported back the results."
Referencing the spreadsheet, Hoyt said there have been 23 complaints filed since November 2023. She noted that three violations were found in early 2024, five complaints are still under review, and 15 show no violation or have been withdrawn.
"So we learned from the ones that we had in November 2023, January 2024, February 2024," Hoyt said. "Some of those, if you go back to them, they were the same issue. We just were unaware that we did the wrong thing. We found out 10 months later that we did, and we cleaned it up. So I think it tells the story that we've learned, we've moved on, and we're continuing to operate within the Open Meeting Law."
Selectman Joe Nowak said he did not disagree with Hoyt. He also felt transparency was a good thing but questioned the repeated nature of the complaints.
"Why have so many times this happened to us? Why? Because there's been questionable things that have been done," he said. "It's up to the board, our chairman, to make sure the agenda is set properly."
Nowak also expressed concerns about the document, stating he felt that it "targeted people."
As for the form itself, he indicated that in the future he will request information and he wanted it to be recorded in a similar way, adding that he often asks questions without getting answers.
Chairman John Duval said the document was generated by KP Law without much input from the town.
"It is people's right to submit these, but the board has done much better in recent history," Duval said. "So it does indicate a story that we are improving and many of these are not identified as violations."
Resident Cathy Foster, who has filed many OML complaints against the board, spoke, suggesting an open discussion could solve many of the filings and avoid attorney fees.
"You folks just skip the 'let's fix this and let's figure it out' part you just go right to sending it to the attorney," she said. "…Why don't you just say 'we are going to discuss this at an open meeting?'"
Foster said, specifically referring to one of her filings about unapproved executive minutes, that if there were an open dialogue with the selectmen about new procedures or policy that would quell her concerns, she would have no reason to continue filing certain complaints.
"I think some of these complaints that come through, you have the ability to look at it and say 'let's talk about it' especially if the person that made the complaint is there," she said. "You might have a decision about it, and everyone might go away happy. No attorney fees; no violations."
The conversation then moved to difficulties interfacing with the town regarding public records requests. One resident stated she was unable to get all the documents she needed through the town and had to contact the state.
Town Clerk Haley Meczywor noted that this year the town has made under $200 in public record requests through the nominal fee they sometimes charge.
Nowak then spoke about shifting leadership in the town and its departments, alleging that the town often claws back permissions for certain new business ventures or other projects.
Hoyt eventually called a point of order, noting the conversation was drifting away from the tracking sheet and billing. She added that she did not want to open the board up to an OML complaint.
Earlier in the meeting, during the discussion on the tracking sheet, Nowak said he felt that Adams was "on the precipice of falling into dark times." He said he recently turned down the chairman position, specifically pointing to the amount of OML complaints among other things.
He indicated during the meeting that he will not be seeking another term.
"I am to the point where I am not scared to say that I am an outsider, and I'm happy that way," he said. "I'm for the common folk … and I'm not going to run again, but when I leave this post as a selectman in two years, I want to feel that I made a difference for the common folk of this town."
In other business, the selectmen voted to appoint Thomas Wiencek as a part-time employee to fill in at the transfer station.
Tags: open meeting complaint,
