Tonight the Select Board voted to adopt a policy for review, approval, and release of executive session minutes. You can read the policy at this link. The policy states,
The Select Board will review, amend and finalize, and approve executive session minutes as soon as practicable after each respective executive session.and continues...
On a quarterly basis, the Board will review the minutes in the notebook in executive session and shall determine whether the purpose of each executive session topic addressed therein still exists
This policy is a step in the right direction.
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36 comments:
Thank you, Select Board, for agreeing that such a policy should be drafted, and for approving it. Most especially, thank you, Diane, for your steadfast persistence to make these minutes known to the public and fighting for our right to transparency in government; thank you, Bill, for immediately upon sitting on the Board, beginning to clarify points being discussed and providing us with information so that we, in the audience or listening, could now begin to understand the policies and procedures of our government, and continuing the fight for our right to know by continuing the press for information and minutes; and thank you, Joe, for ferreting out a lot of documentation to support Ms. Gilbert's initial exposure of the clause (b) for life contracts and pursuing the revelation of information the public needed to know and has the right to know.
Thank you BOS. I've been trying to get executive session minutes for 22 years.Why did Mike Gane keep hide the records/information.
22 years? What a BS Lie!!! You want exec minutes from 1990, I have them. The exec minutes were taken and completed when Maryann Ferreira was the Asst. EA. Only when she was demoted and treated badly by the Select Board did the exec minutes not get transcibed.
I take my hat off to Ed Icaponi for his work as interim. Ed accomplished in a month what Gagne couldn't get done in three years!! Thank you Ed! You work well with the board!
yep he loses more letters and CIP presentation paperwork than Mike ever did.
School Committee race in Chronicle. Bill you've endorsed Diane and Frank, what about Greg Jones who you see at Finance and School meetings? He's on the ball.
Agree, voting for Mr. Jones! Welcome change. And maybe some integrity to the board.
GREG JONES!
I agree. Vote Greg Jones.
C'mon Mom - lay off the keyboard, these blogs will eat you up! ;)
Thanks
Greg Jones
I agree, Greg Jones will be great on the Dartmouth School Committee. Although I respect John Nunes for his service,we need new ideas and Greg has new ideas!
Vote for Jones for SC on April 7th
And Greg is dedicated to the educational well-being and strength of all the children.
He will be an excellent addition to the SC, someone we've needed for a long time now.
Dartmouth needs Greg Jones.
GILBERT, GRACIE, AND JONES.
EDIT: WATSON, STONE, JONES
No, No, No.
Gilbert, Watson, Nunes!
I think the school committee race has gone largely unrecognized. I hope that people read the interviews in the Chronicle and check the website(s) for info. Go Greg, we're pulling for you!
Greg forever, for nineteen-just kidding-GO GREG
Thanks momof3 (not actually my mom) I've enjoyed the process to date and do not regret jumping in no matter Tuesday's outcome. As you mention, the one thing that I would try and change is the attention the school campaign has not gotten. I understand the need to have had the solo Select Board forum at the library - it gave each of those 4 candidates a better opportunity to discuss their positions in depth and that was good - perhaps a second one for the School COmmittee race would have made sense - or it could have bored people to death I don't know which. I've sent an e-mail to the WBSM asking if they would give some time to the SC race since they are doing so for the SB race - have not heard back yet. It was interesting that much of Mr. Watson's time on air yesterday was spent discussing school issues and the one question that they had time to get on was about - you guessed it - school questions. So I know the schools are on people's minds just don't know why there is not the same press coverage. Anyway thanks for the plug and we'll see what happens Tuesday.
Greg Jones
Greg, no one deserves being on the SC more than you do.
You're right. It is very unnerving that Select Board candidates are talking more about the schools than the town side. Maybe because Lara Stone and Mike Watson are running. The line is beginning to blur. I agree there should be communication between the two boards but they should not be one. The schools are not run by the town. Lets not let the town be run by the schools.
Anon 6:15 - Mr Watson was responding to school questions asked of him by the radio host and by the one caller that was able to get through. Appropriately Mr. Watson responded to the questions he was asked that was my only point and should not be interpreted any differently. Thanks.
Greg Jones
It is starting to sound like the Select Board race is the School Committee race. No wonder people are upset that the real School Committee race is not getting much attention.
If Ms. Stone and Mr. Watson get elected, it may become hard to tell the difference.
On Feb. 4, it was reported in The Standard-Times that Ed Iacaponi had been offered the position of interim executive administrator by Select Board Chairman Joe Michaud and Select Board member Diane Gilbert. The decision to offer Mr. Iacaponi the position had never been discussed or voted upon by the entire Select Board at that time.
Besides what I feel is a clear violation of the state’s Open Meeting Law, what I found to be the most appalling is that Gilbert publicly reprimanded Michaud for making this information public by calling the Standard Times.
She conveniently forgot to mention publicly that she also participated in this meeting to offer the interim position to Mr. Iacaponi.
It is interesting that she is currently running for re-election to the Select Board on a transparent and open government platform, yet she remains publicly silent regarding what I feel is a violation. An elected official, especially one who is running on a transparent and open government platform, she cannot pick and choose when to publicly expose an issue regarding transparency.
But no one should be surprised by Gilbert’s actions. They are not unprecedented.
Back in early 2008 during the much debated issue regarding a split tax rate -- an issue vehemently opposed by Diane Gilbert -- she wrote a letter to the Massachusetts Department of Revenue without first notifying her fellow Select Board members. In her complaint, she criticized the Select Board’s behavior and the manner in which they handled the debate by allowing the public to have a voice in the decision.
Think about this for a moment, we the taxpaying citizens according to Gilbert should not have been allowed to have our opinion heard in a public forum on how we should be taxed. There is something inherently wrong with this philosophy and tactic.
What this illustrates is Gilbert’s propensity to pick and choose when transparency is appropriate. Transparency must always be appropriate whether it works for you or against you.
Gilbert has had a lot to say regarding transparency in Dartmouth politics, and it has been illustrated that she has an incredible ability to turn a blind eye to transparency when it suits her needs.
The time for this double standard must come to an end in Dartmouth. We must as a community move forward by electing the right people to the Select Board to bring back transparency and collaboration back to our community, for that is what is needed most in these trying times.
We, the voting citizens of Dartmouth, now have our chance to decide how our community will tackle the issues we face. Will it be one of transparency and collaboration or selective transparency and divisiveness? The choice is yours at the polls on April 7th.
This comment is complete nonsense. Ms. Gilbert has been a consistent and unwavering advocate for the public's right to know. Citing the Open Meeting law regarding the interaction of two members of the Select Board and the Budget Director is just factually incorrect. There can be no meeting of the Select Board without a quorum of three members present. There was no Select Board quorum, hence no violation is possible. After the two met with Mr. Iacaponi and reported back to the Select Board that he was amenable to taking on the task, there was a open meeting and debate on his appointment. Ms. Gilbert's contact with the DOR was an inquiry about the propriety of public statements by Select Board members in advance of a public hearing about the split tax. Her concern there was once again that all sides be heard. It was not an attempt to quell debate but to postpone it to an appropriate forum. No group has been more divisive than those who are opposing. I conclude that their agenda is to get a property tax override passed since they have little other policy difference with Ms. Gilbert. They will not come out and say so,instead citing a broader perspective on fiscal responsibilty or other vague language.
Thanks Bill, That ridiculous attack against Gilbert has got Jim Mathes' fingerprints all over it. You know, the guy that spoke against the split tax while with the chamber of commerce then flipped when his bread got buttered with grant money. He tried the exact same type of attack in another forum and got his butt whipped in that debate also.
Bill - why do you permit these people to slander others without facts to back them up? Mathes has done nothing here and to have these anonymous, chicken neck bloggers make these claims about him is plain wrong.
Mathes knows what he is doing. He is engaging in gutter politics and he is paying the price.
Hammer Mathes some more. He deserves it. We expect more from community leaders.
Bill - why do you allow these attacks on this man? he has not posted here and is not running for office. Running to serve the town seems to make one fair game in Dartmouth but tho allow these sladerous posts to continue demeans you and does not serve what you stated the purpose of this blog was. It is disgraceful plain and simple.
Mathes is a well paid political hack who has been engaging in gutter politics. He deserves everything he gets.
I am glad that Jim Mathes has been exposed for what he is. He should be ashamed of himself.
Jim Mathes? Gutter? oh I get it he's a bowler! glad you helped me on that one. is he any good? you know I dont get much sleep these days trying to catch those secret meetings. no luck so far but im working on it. Diane's article was very helpful. she should write for the world weekly news. I bet she'd find Elvis and not in a burger King in Michigan but in Padenarum. So if anyone sees a older man about 70 with sideburns in a cadillac driving thru padanarum please post it here.Im on the case
Jim Mathes? hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha...catch my breath...ok...hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha.
THE LATEST: I saw the white 75 coupe deville at Bj's yesterday loading up on peanut butter and bananas.
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