Notes and Tidbits
By Lonnie Brennan
GEORGETOWN ‒ Just a few additional notes from the recent Georgetown Selectboard’s meeting:
- Flag: The board met in a meeting room on the second floor. As there was no American flag to be found in the room, the members rose for the Pledge of Allegiance to a flag displayed on one member’s cell phone. Unlike the school committee in Amesbury, it’s nice to see all the members of a board rise to the Pledge of Allegiance, even if they had to make a last-minute scramble to locate a ‘flag.’
- Turn Off Your Phone: The meeting was taped by Georgetown Community Television but the audio captured a phone conversation from a non-participant in the meeting who conversed loudly over speaker phone. It made a few minutes of listening to the meeting rather challenging. One member of the board, Doug Dawes, did, at one point give the universal silence (fingers across the throat) signal to the phone user.
- Agenda? Selectman Mike Donahue questioned the change of the meeting’s posted agenda and was told by the board’s employee to go file an Open Meeting Law complaint. The dialogue was short:
“Mr. Hoover,” Donahue asked, “I don’t think this was posted in time, this Charter Commission [item]?”
Rob Hoover, the chair, asked the Town Administrator Orlando to reply, and Pacheco responded, “we amended the agenda.”
Donahue acknowledged as he held the agenda notice up and read from it that “yes” it was amended, but that occurred “yesterday at 12:25, and I just don’t know if that’s in timeframe of 48 hours” (the legally required posting time).
Pacheco replied: “I would say file an Open Meeting Law complaint.”
Donahue responded that he would abstain from that agenda item, in reference to its possible failure to comply with the Open Meeting Law. Stay tuned for more on this one …
- Speaking of Open Meeting Law Violations: One member of the audience noted that the town had not posted minutes of any selectboard’s meeting online this year. Actually, the town has not posted agendas, nor minutes online since November 17, 2025 on it s agenda page, and the minutes placed online for the Oct. 20, 2025 meeting are marked “Draft.”
As a result of another Open Meeting Law violation complaint, Pacheco handed the board members a number of draft minutes for them to review and discuss at their next meeting, along with a copy of said complaint. Note: Chronic tardiness in approving and posting minutes is not unique to 2026.
- Legal Counsel? Last week in the article “Town to Review ConCom Agent Abrupt Firing,” we included a line stating the town’s retained counsel, KP Law, was consulted regarding the matter of what has been termed the surprise firing of the town’s ConCom agent. To correct the record: while “legal counsel was consulted” it may or may not have been the town’s legal counsel, KP Law. We await details in this matter.
- Was the Process Followed? File this one under “ouch.” On Friday, March 20, 2026 – on a day when town hall was closed – Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco sent an e-mail at 8:24 in the morning with the subject line “Notice of Termination” to the town’s conservation agent. The e-mail stated:
“Michele, this notice is being sent to your personal email since you no longer have access to the network. Please reach out to Maureen [Pacheco’s secretary] to schedule a time to return Town equipment, keys, etc. and collect any personal items in the office. Best, Orlando”
Attached to that e-mail was a 25-page scanned PDF document in which Pacheco detailed that the ConCom agent’s actions concerning a postponed Conservation Commission meeting and her … “subsequent failure to properly comply with the public records law, you are hereby terminated effective immediately.”
Pacheco went on to repeat in the letter, the vulgarity which the ConCom agent uttered and was caught on an Zoom transcript, as well as what he charged as her attempt to hide the transcript as part of the grounds for dismissal. He concluded by stating that “You may set up a time, with a Police Officer present, to obtain any personal items…” etc. The bulk of the 25-pages related to the transcript.
As The Town Common reported last week, six days later, at the selectboard’s meeting of Thursday, March 26, Selectman Mike Donahue asked that the “process” of the firing be placed as an agenda item for the board to discuss at a future meeting. Donahue stated, “my intent is to simply make sure we’re following the bylaws and best practices.”
Donahue cited the town’s bylaws, noting that he did not see how the town administrator was given the authority to fire an employee, nor had the board granted the administrator such authority during the selectman’s tenure. He emphasized that he was not challenging the merits of the termination but just wanted to ensure the town followed due process.
Pacheco replied: “we consulted legal counsel.”
The Town Common was provided with a copy of the termination email, but “none of us saw it” Donahue said, gesturing to his fellow selectboard members. Pacheco explained it was a “personnel matter.” He went on to challenge the selectman: “I mean, are you going to meddle in the day-to-day?” Donahue replied, “I’m not meddling in the day-to-day,” and repeated his request for a process review to ensure the town complied with the process. ♦
