by Lonnie Brennan
GEORGETOWN – If you tune in or watch the replays, the Georgetown Select Board meetings continue to surprise. This past week, two particular scenes unfolded, both to do with the board’s desire to move forward with developing a ‘Charter’ to change the town’s form of government.
At their last meeting, four members of the board indicated they had questions for the Charter Committee which was not present. A Charter, they discussed, would eliminate all elected positions in town with the exception of school committee and select board.
Surprise number one occurred when apparently only one member brought forth any questions. Mike Donahue submitted a number of questions in writing prior to the meeting, in which he asked for examples of why the government should change, and what problems are being solved that could not be solved with simple bylaw changes. Member Ed Dobie stated he had questions, but submitted none. Member Laura Repplier stated she has never been convinced of the need for a Charter, but submitted no questions, and Chair Doug Dawes who had said the Charter Committee’s report left him lacking, also submitted no questions. Member Rob Hoover, who served on the Charter Committee, had requested written questions.
The second surprise was when Donahue was repeatedly interrupted by his colleagues, seemingly never able to finish more than a sentence without an interruption/interjection.
Donahue asked if the committee had looked into any examples of why a change was needed. When pressed, he cited the question he previously raised regarding the town administrator hiring a secondary law firm which the admin. states give him explicit powers to hire and fire town employees. Donahue asked if the charter would address this matter.
The Town Common has been denied access to the secret legal opinion regarding the ceding of authority to the administrator. We’re told that residents just have to take the board’s word for it. Donahue’s attempts to get the board to release the document to the public have similarly been stonewalled. The board continues to sign off on legal bills to argue against Freedom of Information Requests to prevent its release to the public.
Charter Commission Chair Alicia Raspa (who also chairs the town’s finance committee and community preservation committee) responded that it could or could not be addressed in a charter, but when Donahue sought clarification, Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco injected himself into the conversation and told Raspa – cutting off Raspa – and advising: “I think it’s important to let Mike – just listen – he wants to say it – we don’t have to agree with him, but just let him say it so it feels like it’s been said. And if he says it 100 times, it doesn’t change anything factual.”
Hoover appeared to smile, Repplier sat with crossed arms, Dobie sat silent, and Dawes appeared distracted.
Donahue softly replied, “What did I say that was inaccurate, Orlando?”
Pacheco stated that he had the permission of the chairs to get a second legal opinion. Donahue again noted that no vote of the board authorized such, and again asked if the charter would correct such things. Raspa said her committee is not here to weigh in on such matters; they’re just asking to move the charter forward.
Dobie jumped in and said it’s an issue, “that you and I have spoken about” but then said this wasn’t the forum to discuss it further. He said the board could just work with the Charter committee and work things through.
After some discussion (again, free fall, without recognition of any member or speaker by the chair), Town Administrator Pacheco again injected: ” with all due respect to Mike, there’s been a lot of uber focus on the town administrator, but I am one person of an entire town and try to think of like the bigger picture of how you want the town to function, kind of in a more efficiently clear, direct approach. Before it was me, I think you guys, it was [former selectwoman] Rachel [Therrian] that Mike had a lot of focus on. So, I want, so it’s clear to you, because you had that thousand-page complaint. (Donahue replied – “Thousand page?” – as no such thousand-page document exists). Pacheco plowed on: “Your big complaint was that process to remove somebody who was underperforming. And one of things I said is -.” He was interrupted mid-sentence by Dobie who stated “Mr. Chair, one side is as bad as the other side. No offense, I think we should shut this down and just move forward.”
After some utterances by others, Orlando proceeded to state that the current bylaws are in part “loosey goosey” in areas, and a Charter – which he has advocated for repeatedly – would bring a uniform process to all appointees.
Donahue replied that the whole point is if we’re moving from bylaw to Charter, is to have a fundamental understanding of what is broken, to form a Charter that makes the most sense. Pacheco replied that nothing has to be broken. Raspa echoed that same, adding that it’s just organizing things differently.
No further mention of examples of how a charter would solve any problem was discussed, nor was there further discussion of the secret law opinion obtained by the town administrator.
Since obtaining the secret opinion, the admin. has fired one town hall employee and hired a two employees.
Donahue has been the only member to question the legality of the change and the cloak of secrecy of the legal opinion which the chair and super-majority of the board support.
Repplier said that moving forward would be a deep dive into if we should or should not structure things different, “so I’m all on board.”
Dobie asked for a vote to move forward.
Donahue asked what it would cost.
After some discussion of the flat fee the town paid to a consultant to advise the Charter Exploratory Committee, and remaining funds, the committee voted to move forward on the path to create a Charter Committee, etc. ♦
