(NOTE: This is the first installment in a five-part story. Look for additional articles over the next four days.)
WILMINGTON, MA – At the June 22nd Board of Selectmen Meeting, Selectwoman Judy O’Connell and Selectman Mike Newhouse went public with stunning criticisms surrounding the appointment process of Finance Committee, the 9-member board which serves as the “fiscal watchdogs” for the Wilmington taxpayers.
“I have concerns with the process that was followed or the lack thereof, and the inconsistencies between appointments,” said O’Connell, who requested the discussion take place at the board’s meeting with the appointing committee present.
“I am trying to stand up for something that I think is right and I feel it was for the failure of other people to take my comments seriously, in private, that it has even had to be brought to this level,” said O’Connell. “I’m not going to let it go until we have an understanding of what happened… and make a collective effort to ensure [the process] doesn’t get done like this again.”
O’Connell had Selectman Mike Newhouse’s unwavering support.
“Ms. O’Connell worked far too hard to make sure the process went right, and it didn’t, and that deserves a public discussion, especially when we’re talking about a committee whose whole function is to keep government honest,” said Newhouse.
“Some things were done incorrectly and there’s no question a couple of decisions were deliberately less than transparent. It’s inescapable to come to that conclusion,” asserted Newhouse. “The way it was handled this year has never been done before, point blank.”
Appointment #1: Marianne Gallezzo
Town Clerk Failed To Notify Appointing Committee Of Finance Committee Opening
Victoria Ellsworth resigned her seat on the Finance Committee in the fall after moving out of town.
The Town Bylaws (Chapter 4, Section 1) read: “Whenever a vacancy occurs in the membership of the [Finance] Committee, notice thereof shall at once be given by the Town Clerk to the appointing committee, who shall forthwith fill such vacancy.”
The appointing committee, which consists of the Finance Committee Chair (then John Doherty), the Board of Selectmen Chair (then Judy O’Connell) and the Town Moderator (then Jim Stewart), did not receive formal notice from the Town Clerk’s Office of the vacancy until FIVE MONTHS after the resignation.
“It wasn’t until April, when Judy started asking questions, that the Town Clerk, at the Town Manager’s request, notified the appointing authorities,” noted a critical Selectman Mike Newhouse.
During Those Five Months, The Finance Committee Chair Didn’t Find A Replacement & Allegedly Didn’t Ask For Any Help
Selectman Mike Newhouse then took Finance Committee Chair John Doherty to task for his role in the appointment process, alleging he was not acting in concert with his fellow appointing committee members.
“Let’s get one thing straight! The Chairman of the Finance Committee doesn’t hand pick the people that then turn around and make him the Chairman of the Finance Committee,” said an agitated Newhouse. “It’s bad practice. It’s why the residents of this town created a bylaw that says when there’s a vacancy, THREE individuals should promptly fill the vacancy. It’s supposed to ensure a balance… and the independence of Finance Committee.”
Newhouse pointed to an email correspondence between Doherty and Assistant Town Manager Kendra Amaral, dated November 5, in which Doherty wrote, “I will contact Judy [O’Connell] and Jim [Stewart] with the replacements and then let you know who they are.”
(By the way, per their request, the Selectmen were given every email correspondence on the Town Hall’s servers, sent and received, since July 1, 2014, in regards to the Finance Committee appointment process.)
Later in the meeting, Town Manager Jeff Hull also expressed frustration with the Finance Committee Chair, noting that in January, his office contacted Doherty to find out the status of the vacant Finance Committee positions and if he had talked to O’Connell and Stewart.
“The response came back that he was still looking for candidates and had not talked with Judy and Jim,” said Hull. “It certainly seemed appropriate to me to have that conversation with Judy [O’Connell] and Jim [Stewart] to make them aware that [the town] is looking for candidates. It didn’t happen.”
“It’s extremely frustrating,” continued the normally calm and collected Hull, “that in a number of instances, I was under the mis-impression that John [Doherty] was going to be consulting with the other participants… You talk about frustrated? I’m absolutely frustrated by that!”
“It would be easier [to fill the Finance Committee vacancies] if, from November 5 through April 7, the Finance Committee [Chair] would have enlisted the help of his fellow appointing committee members,” observed Newhouse. “It would have been easier to fill those positions had the needs for those positions been publicized as were so many other vacant positions throughout the town.”
Doherty, while at the meeting, did not respond to these particular criticisms levied against him.
Marianne Gallezzo Applied To Fill The Vacant Position And The Town Clerk Accidentally Gave Her The Wrong Seat
Hearing that the Finance Committee vacancy remained unfilled for more than five months, resident Marianne Gallezzo, a paralegal in Selectman Mike Newhouse’s law office, sent in a letter of interest to Town Hall on April 7.
By April 14, Finance Committee Chair John Doherty and Selectmen Chair Judy O’Connell agreed to appoint Gallezzo to fill the vacancy, but both decided to wait until after the Town Election, when a new Town Moderator would be chosen, so the entire appointing committee could complete the process.
On April 28, Doherty, O’Connell and new Town Moderator Rob Peterson unanimously agreed that Gallezzo should fill Elsworth’s 1-year unexpired term expiring in 2016. Doherty alerted Town Clerk Sharon George of the appointment on April 29. The Town Clerk swore Gallezzo into office on May 4.
When Gallezzo was sworn in, however, she was handed a letter saying she was receiving a 3-year term expiring in 2018. Gallezzo questioned the length of the term, but the Town Clerk assured her it was a 3-year term. Later that day, the Town Clerk called Gallezzo to inform her there was an error and it was, indeed, a 1-year term.
A couple of days later, however, Gallezzo received the letter in the mail from the Town Clerk, stating, again, that her appointment was a 3-year term, with a handwritten note on the bottom apologizing for the confusion.
“What is Gallezzo’s term?,” asked a frustrated Newhouse. “Is it a 1-year term like this unsigned thing we just got tonight or a 3-year term expiring in 2018 [which the official letter, which Newhouse received from Gallezzo, stated]?
After being informed by Town Manager Jeff Hull – and confirmed Peterson and Doherty – that the term was for one year, Newhouse asked Hull to direct the Town Clerk to re-date a letter and send a correction.
Newhouse Criticizes Doherty’s Actions At Town Meeting
Even though Marianne Gallezzo wasn’t officially a member until her swearing-in on May 4, Finance Committee Chair John Doherty asked her to attend the Town Meeting on May 2. Gallezzo stayed for the entire 6.5-hour meeting.
After the meeting was over, Doherty – according to Newhouse – walked to the back of the High School Auditorium and made a comment to Gallezzo that she had voted differently than the Finance Committee on a couple of articles.
“To me, that stinks of intimidation,” accused Newhouse.
Doherty denied the comment was meant to intimidate.
Newhouse further criticized Doherty for telling an inquiring resident – former School Committee member Mario Marchese – at Town Meeting that all the Finance Committee seats were filled, when, according to the Newhouse, that wasn’t the case.
Doherty did not respond to that accusation.
(NOTE: Look for the second article on this story, covering the Shawn Kelley appointment, tomorrow.)
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