DePinto critical of Retirement Board
Published on January 25th, 2006
STONEHAM, MA - Stoneham Selectman John DePinto lashed out at the town's Retirement Board for reportedly ignoring a request to advertise a potential spot on the five-member group.
According to the first-term Selectman, Retirement Board members silently killed a suggestion made by Town Administrator Ron Florino last month that the fifth seat on the Retirement Board be advertised to all interested parties.
Instead, the Selectman charges, the board ignored the request and re-appointed StonehamBank President and veteran Retirement Board member Janice Houghton into the position. Houghton, who was re-appointed by a unanimous vote, was then named the group's Chairwoman.
"That sounds like a Kangaroo court to me. I can't see how a board could refuse to advertise and just snub their noses at the rest of us like that," vented DePinto, who made it clear that his frustration centered on the process, not the actual person chosen for the position.
"Look, I like Jan. She's a very capable person. But I don't like the way things were done," the Selectman added. "I'm just very disappointed with the Retirement Board right now."
Responding to her recent re-appointment to the Retirement Board, Houghton shrugged off the criticism, saying that her only role in the matter was simply confirming that she would like to keep the post, which she has held for nearly a quarter century.
In addition, Houghton explained that during her tenure on the Retirement Board, past practice has always been to ask the current member if they wished to remain with the group.
"In the 25-years I've served on the board, it's never been advertised," said Houghton. "When they asked me if I wanted to stay, I said yes. I enjoy it and I work with a great group."
The town's Retirement Board, which rules on a municipal worker's eligibility for inclusion in the system, determines the annual sum of money required from the town to fully fund the program, and manages the assets used to pay for retirement benefits, consists of a five member board.
Two of those members earn their seats through a direct vote of those presently eligible for retirement benefits. The third member, who serves as an ex-official, is always Stoneham's current Town Accountant, while the fourth person is appointed by the Board of Selectmen.
The last member, who can't be a person enrolled in the system, is appointed by the four sitting members of the Retirement Board itself.
"They don't have to advertise this position. The Retirement Board appoints the fifth member and Jan was asked if she wanted to run again. She did, so we re-appointed her," recently elected Retirement Board member Ellsie Wallace recalled.
"Jan has been on the board for a long time and she's terrific. And the board has the right to choose whoever they want as long as they're not a member of the retirement system or a town official. There was no mention made about advertising [the position] and no need to advertise," Wallace added.
According to Florino, while he didn't make a formal motion, he did throw out a suggestion at the meeting that the position be advertised so that all interested parties could submit a letter of intent. Although the Town Administrator feels that Houghton, a former Stoneham Citizen-of-the-Year, is more than qualified and deserving of the position, he felt it was only fair to open-up the opportunity to everybody - as is regularly done for both Board of Selectmen and Town Administrator appointments.
"I had the feeling that the Selectmen wanted to see this position advertised and I thought that would be the appropriate thing to do too. So I put that comment out there, but didn't get any response," recalled the Town Administrator.
"It's not that I have anything against Jan. In fact, I voted for her. I was just thinking that we could see if anybody else was interested," added Florino, who was himself named to the Retirement Board only after the Selectmen advertised the opening. According to Wallace, even if the group was to advertise the opening, there was likely to be little if any response to the request. Basing her argument on the events proceeding Florino's own appointment to the Retirement Board, Wallace pointed to the fact that after the Selectmen failed to receive a single letter of intent asking to be named to the position, the Town Administrator was asked if he would step into the role.
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