GEORGETOWN – SelectBoard Chair Robert Hoover called upon Police Chief David Sedgwick who removed resident Kevin Wood, a
frequent critic of town officials, boards and commissions, from last Monday night’s meeting, April 27, when Wood criticized Hoover and Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco.
Wood said neither Hoover nor Pacheco had the authority, under a town bylaw, to hire a law firm for an opinion on the firing of an employee.
He was speaking during the three minutes allotted to each speaker for public comments. Wood stated that the town administrator’s unusual move to unilaterally hire a different law firm, instead of using K&P Law, which has served the town for decades, violated the town bylaws.
Pacheco acknowledged that he hired Murphy, Hesse, Twomey & Lahane, to issue a legal opinion on whether he had the authority to fire an employee. The issue arose when Pacheco fired the employee of the Conservation Commission without consultation with the Commission, nor with a vote of the Board of Selectmen.
SelectBoard member Mike Donahue also questioned what authority Pacheco used to hire the new law firm for this one opinion, without the SelectBoard’s approval. He asked for a vote by the SelectBoard to obtain an opinion from the town’s historical law firm, K&PL on whether Pacheco had the authority to unilaterally fire an employee. Donahue sought to find out how Pacheco could hire a law firm without a vote of the SelectBoard, as detailed in town bylaws.
When the SelectBoard failed to adopt Donahue’s motion, he offered to pay personally up to $1,000 of the fee for K&PL to issue an opinion. Hoover called that offer “absurd.” (Which is strange in that after a long discussion, Hoover was the sole vote in support of the motion which failed.)
Donahue also pointed out that the Murphy firm issued an opinion apparently supporting Pacheco’s authority about the time when the firm was hired by the Georgetown school committee. The firm is employed by several school districts.
The SelectBoard did not ask Pacheco why he chose a different law firm for an opinion on firing an employee. After the meeting, in response to an inquiry by The Town Common to the town administrator, he replied via e-mail: “Murphy, Hesse, Toomey, & Lehane LLP was solicited on the basis of expertise and experience within the municipal community.”
He wrote that the opinion also involved issues involving an Inspector General’s ruling on the conservation commission. But he did not elaborate.
Wood told the SelectBoard that the town’s Bylaw chapter 125-01 states, the “Board of Selectmen shall have the full authority to employ counsel…”
“If the Board has FULL authority, that means you, Mr. Hoover, have Zero authority. And it certainly means that Mr. Pacheco screwed up royally and you are covering for him – at least until the election,” Wood said.
At that point in the meeting, Hoover began shouting at Wood and pounding his gavel, the first time anyone can remember him using the gavel in a meeting. He asked the police chief to silence Wood, denying the critic his remaining less than two minutes of allotted speaking time.
The police chief, who was attending the meeting on other matters, told Wood, “I do not want to do this,” but turned him around and walked him out of the room. Wood initially refused to be removed, saying he had First Amendment rights to speak. (The entire incident and audio/video was captured on cable TV.)
Wood provided The Town Common with the remainder of his statement. He was prepared to say: “Then Mr. Pacheco used the ‘secret’ opinion he obtained from this unlawful engagement to override our personnel bylaw and unlawfully terminate an employee.
“Imagine that – a secret unauthorized opinion has repudiated our personnel bylaw that the citizens approved at last Annual Town Meeting – and Mr. Pacheco won’t tell us what it says – it’s a secret law. Just like in China.
“In what world does this happen? Chairman Hoover’s world. This is his idea of the ‘Rule of Law’ and ‘transparency’.”
Prior to the revelation of the name of the law firm, as previously noted in this paper, the town administrator did not release the name of the law firm and Wood’s request for a copy of the opinion, let alone the name of the law firm, were both denied.
In Georgetown, the town administrator serves as the personnel director and the finance director.
Public Comment Statement by Kevin Wood
(This is what you would have heard if he was allowed to read his printed statement in full.)
Your agenda states: “Discuss process used in Town Administrator retaining law firm”
You all took an oath of office where you swore or affirmed: “do solemnly swear, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and will support the constitution thereof. So help me God.”
Article 30 of the Massachusetts Constitution states we are a “government of laws and not of men”
You are all violating your oath of office.
Georgetown Bylaw Chapter 125-01 states the “Board of Selectmen shall have the full authority to employ counsel…”
FULL authority.
If the Board has FULL authority that means you, Mr. Hoover, have Zero authority. And it certainly means that Mr. Pacheco screwed up royally and you are covering for him – at least until the election.
This is where he was cut off and removed by the Chief of Police. His printed statement, secured by The Town Common, continued:
Then Mr. Pacheco used the “secret” opinion he obtained from this unlawful engagement to over ride our personnel bylaw and unlawfully terminate an employee.
Imagine that – a secret unauthorized opinion has repudiated our personnel bylaw that the citizens approved at last ATM – and Mr. Pacheco won’t tell us what is says – its a secret law. Just like in China.
In what world does this happen? Chairman Hoover’s world. This is his idea of the “Rule of Law” and “transparency”. ♦
