Finance Board feeling left out of budget talks
Published on January 11th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA Finance Board Chairman Richard Gregorio accused the Selectmen on Monday night of holding illegal meetings with a local advocacy group to negotiate FY07 budget strategies.
According to the veteran town official, at least two Selectmen violated the open-meeting law by meeting with members of the Stoneham Taxpayer's Association (STA) - a private citizen group - and discussing how to approach the anticipated $3.1 million FY07 deficit in upcoming budget deliberations.
Reportedly submitting a letter to the Board of Selectmen's office requesting a copy of the meeting's minutes, as Gregorio believes the Selectmen's involvement fell under the rules governing a subcommittee, the Finance Board Chairman further claimed that similar talks with the STA had either occurred or were in the process of being arranged with the School Committee.
"They've [STA members] met with the Selectmen to discuss budget strategies. And they've met with the School Committee to discuss budget strategies. And yet, I haven't been involved in one discussion about budget strategies," Gregorio vented at a Finance Board meeting Monday night.
"This information is being used to organize the budget, so that's why I want to know what the hell is being discussed," the Finance Board member added. "My understanding from [Town Counsel] Bill Solomon is any meeting with two members of the Board of Selectmen or three members of the Finance Board is considered a subcommittee. So in my opinion, that was an open-meeting."
Responding to the charges, Superintendent Dr. Joseph Connelly flatly denied that any such meeting had taken place, but did admit that he's presently trying to arrange a meeting with members of the STA - an offshoot of the group that lobbied to defeat the override two years ago.
However, the Superintendent added that no School Committee member was presently planning to attend the informal discussion, nor was the meeting to center on budget strategies as much as identifying the major issues the private association has with the school district's planned FY07 budget.
"That's not true," said Connelly, who added that he plans to keep an open-line of communication with all parties concerned about the FY07 budget. "I have tried to reach out to an individual within that group for the purpose of sitting down to talk about their concerns. But that has not yet happened."
While several Selectmen admit knowledge of the conversations between the STA and fellow board members, they all claim that the discussions were conducted in informal, and not at the behest or officially on behalf of the entire board.
Scoffing at the suggestion that any impropriety took place, Selectman Cosmo Ciccarello, who sat in on the meeting with John DePinto, claimed that during his 20-year tenure on the board, an informal meeting with a private citizen has never been considered a violation of the open-meeting law - unless done so with a quorum of the board.
"Yes I did," Ciccarello responded without hesitation, when asked if he participated in the discussions. "John DePinto made an arrangement with Peter [D'Angelo], and we met for lunch."
"This wasn't a committee and it wasn't a subcommittee. And in the 20-years I've been on the Board of Selectmen, I've never gotten a copy of their [the Finance Board's] minutes. Where are their minutes?"
According to Ciccarello, DePinto, D'Angelo and Town Administrator Ron Florino, who also joined in at the lunch, the primary purpose of the gathering was to explain the town's current financial status and feel out how the STA currently regards a trash fee. At a Selectmen's meeting this winter, D'Angelo and members of the citizen group approached the board to request that a non-binding referendum question be placed on an election ballot on the matter of the rubbish fee. With four out of the five Selectmen - with the exception of Tony Kennedy - unofficially agreeing at that time to place the matter before Stoneham's citizens for a vote, DePinto and Ciccarello both plan to honor their pledge and vote to place the matter before voters this April.
"There wasn't any formal vote on it, but we did all seem to agree to place it on the ballot," recalled Ciccarello, saying he will bring the matter up at the next Selectmen's meeting. "If people end up voting in favor of it [a trash fee], then I'll agree to it too, but my personal feeling is that it's not the right way to go."
"I do think it should go to the town. Let's find out what the residents think. And I think there should be more than enough published about the budget and the town's finances before the general election. So it should be in April," said DePinto of the ballot question, while admitting that he's currently against, but somewhat on the fence about the rubbish fee.
As for Kennedy, who personally doesn't support the question, he feels that the non-binding referendum sets a bad precedent, as it could possibly lead to a request for such a measure every time a citizen or patch of residents don't agree with an executive decision. And as long as the FY07 deficit remains at a level exceeding $3 million, a hole that will certainly lead to yet another round of municipal layoffs, the Selectman will lean towards re-implementing the citizen garbage costs.
"It's not that I don't care about what people think, I just don't think it sets a good precedent. Every time you make a decision, I don't think you should have to go to a referendum question," Kennedy remarked. According to Town Administrator Ron Florino, after using offsets such as the overlay reserve and stabilization account, Stoneham will still face at least a $2.2 million deficit without a trash fee - assuming that zero-percent collective bargaining increases are negotiated. Currently the Town Administrator plans to have the School Committee cut $1.2 million from their draft one budget, which calls for approximately $23 million worth of expenditures in FY07. The municipal side would in turn implement $1 million in reductions, says Florino, including eliminating several public safety positions currently vacant due to retirements or position changes.
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