Fellow blogger, Bellicose Bumpkin has kindly posted the Middleboro Board of Selectmen's Meeting View from the cheap seats
Mrs. Brunelle has yet failed to indicate gifts she received, but at least she revealed the Ethics Statute cumulative limit of $50.
For any desiring to wade through the pertinent statutes to which Mr. Solimini referred --
Chapter 39: Section 23A. Definitions
Chapter 39: Section 23B. Open meetings of governmental bodies
Chapter 39: Section 23C. Regulation of participation by public in open meetings Secretary of State Public Records Division
Public Records Law M.G.L. Chapter 66, Section 5A.
PART I. ADMINISTRATION OF THE GOVERNMENT
TITLE X. PUBLIC RECORDS
CHAPTER 66. PUBLIC RECORDS
Chapter 66: Section 5A. Records of meetings of boards and commissions; contents
Section 5A. The records, required to be kept by sections eleven A of chapter thirty A, nine F of chapter thirty-four and twenty-three B of chapter thirty-nine, shall report the names of all members of such boards and commissions present, the subjects acted upon, and shall record exactly the votes and other official actions taken by such boards and commissions; but unless otherwise required by the governor in the case of state boards, commissions and districts, or by the county commissioners in the case of county boards and commissions, or the governing body thereof in the case of a district, or by ordinance or by-law of the city or town, in the case of municipal boards, such records need not include a verbatim record of discussions at such meetings.
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #1
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #2
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #3
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #4
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #5
Middleboro BOS: Misplaced Indignation #6
41 comments:
What a bunch of buffoons. Now that the loquacious and distracting Mr. Bond has left the board, we really have the chance to finally see these public servant shine!
Thanks for the compilation of misplaced indignation. Never know when you might need it.
What an arrogant lot!
I'm from Lakeville and wouldn't put up withit.
I've had enough of Marsha's crap!
The only part she got right about the Open Meeting law is Section C.
Attitude adjustment time!
Thanks Bellicose Bumpkin for posted the video.
This one needs to be saved.
It should be included in the re-election ads for their opponents.
This is the best Mboro finds?
You guys gotta problem.
To deflect criticism, surrounding towns are targeted.
Mboro residents need to watch or attend other meetings and see what professional conduct looks like.
I was at that meeting. Taped it at home for my husband and watched the next day thinking I got it wrong. I've watched the damn thing 5 times and it doesnt get better.
That man is owed a written apology by every single board member.
Reprehensible!
I'll take that cheap seat any day over these idiots.
Who elected these people and why do they keep running if they can't or won't do their job?
Oh, I get it. They're all pro-casino that isn't coming and the pro-casino crowd stuck us with idiots.
Until you bloged about how bad these people were I didnt watch. Town goverment was never importent. My friends criticised you so they must be write. I seen this and know its wrong. April I vote.
Marsha has something to hide.
Mr. Solomini was only asking for something the Board obviously missed.
Watching this several times...and then reviewing the actual minutes it seems like the board only wanted to record Mr Frawleys and Whrenthrews apology?
Wasn't their an issue that was discussed???? on 2-9-09 OH that was gifts....
Oh that was attending POW WOWs....
Give me a break....they're obviously trying to cover something.
This should not be let go until it gets recorded.
They are public officials subject to Open Meeting Law, and not their interpretation of it.
And Mr. Spataro....well it is election time....and it is about time the residents give him his walking papers.
Mr. Solamini has asked questions for me that I was too uncomfortable to do. He is a nice man. What if the question he asked was mine? Would I be treated like that? I think I would. So I think this isn't good. Why was he yelled at? They did something wrong.
Marsha, for all her bravado, has yet to come clean. Did you return your gifts? I'm sick of this crap myself. Tell us Marsha.
Bond returned a blanket and announced it publicly months ago. That should have put these ....... on notice to check the law. Did they? No!
Instead, Spetero waited until someone told him to return the gifts having nothing to do with the law. He gets mad about that? The man is owed an apology.
I know who I'll vote for in April.
I’ve read the stories. I’ve watched the videos. These can be serious issues, but unless someone purposefully brings them to the attention of the District Attorney’s office, they will remain UNINVESTIGATED!
I suggest that someone write a brief letter of concern to the DA, specifically, to one Mary Lee, Assistant District Attorney.
I’ll provide the address:
Plymouth County District Attorney’s Office
Mary Lee, Assistant District Attorney
32 Belmont Street
P.O. Box 1665
Brockton, MA 02301
Until that letter is written, no one knows but us.
We dont always agree but on this we do.
Not good!
I'll vote in April.
It would be my hope that the 4 members of the board would watch this objectively and see what this sounds like. I'm tired of Marsha's crap.
If it weren't for hubby looking up the laws and feeding prepared answers, Marsha would be lost. Thank you, Roger, now how about doing your job? A new town web site maybe?
So, what are you going to do? When are you going to go to a town meeting and say something? Are you happy just blogging? Or, would like to get the geniune feeling of "I did something"?
All the back slapping and name calling the anti-casino people have been doing, gets us no where. It smells vain. I am sick of it.
OK, BOS stinks, then change it.
We got killed at the town hall meeting, the recall failed, we have caused a divide among our neighbors, residents of the state overwhelmingly want a casino, so getting out the message has failed, and still to this day no one can say the argument that if we did not get an agreement, then we would end up with nothing AND a casino was fallacious. No one has put any doubt into that basic premise.
I say stop blogging to each other and go to the town hall and say something. Vote them out. Walk around and get signatures. And for god sakes stop congratulating each other it is pathetic.
Frederick Eayrs, another former Middleborough selectman, said he thinks the ruling will finish the local casino proposal.
"I think the likelihood of it being resurrected is pretty slim," Eayrs said. "We're looking at something that's DOA."
Eayrs recalled the bitter arguments between groups supporting and opposing the casino back in 2007 that tore the rural community in two. All that infighting, he said, turned out to be irrelevant.
"The pro- and anti-casino factions have amounted to nothing," Eayrs said. "This was ultimately decided by something outside Middleborough."
When you did the recall I didn't agree with you but I listened. I still didn't agree but I kept listening because that's what you kept saying. The last 2 meetings made me understand. I don't agree with everything you say, but I'm still listening.
I listened to this board of jerks and won't vote for them again.
I don't agree with you but that's no way to treat a voter and I don't give a damn who it is.
After watching this several times this week before you or Belicose Bumpkin posted it today I still can't comment.
Twilight Zone? Yeah!
This was wrong. Dead wrong.
They conducted other business during that meeting that doesnt matter. All that matters now is the way a voter was treated.
Thank you Mr Spatero for making my vote choice easy in April.
This has become weekend amusement for some to watch and it's pretty interesting that a few haven't figured out the players or the issues. What's gonna happin when the clowns get snow'd in tomorow?
Its like a food fight.
Let's stick to the issues.
The BOS was wrong.
I vote.
To anonymous who wonders
"what are you going to do? When are you going to go to a town meeting and say something? Are you happy just blogging?"
If you were at the last Special Town Meeting, there were several issues I rose to question.
Clearly, you weren't present or you might have heard the audible intake of breath, as in "Oh, God! What is she going to say now?"
I asked several questions at the Annual Town Meeting that you also must have missed.
The Recall didn't fail. You just didn't get the point.
Collect signatures for what? Please explain.
When you quote an article from which you have plagiarized, it is common to give credit. I have enough to do without subscribing to a daily category search for casino articles.
I have the utmost respect for Ted who argued against the casino and then for the casino. Or did I get that wrong? Was it for the casino and then against the casino? Either way, I do respect Ted, but this doesn't seem to be an either/or issue that you can vacillate on.
As to the matter of failing in any fashion, allow me, if you will (since I waded through your comments), I'm getting older and memory doesn't always serve well, but it seems to me that almost 2 years ago, Scotty Fearsome told us a casino was inevitable, so roll over, play dead, and the structure, infrastructure, Route 44, 495, Route 3 improvements would all miraculously appear WITHIN 18 MONTHS.
It is now 2 years.
There is no shovel in the ground.
Casinos around the country are filing bankruptcy, have stopped expansion or are begging for bailouts.
There is no Class III gaming in the Commonwealth.
There is no Bingo Parlor in Middleboro.
Twin Rivers has defaulted and is whining for Rhode Island to bail them out. They are the investors who would have pursued a Bingo Parlor in Middleboro.
If they are on the verge of bankruptcy, how will they invest $200-300 MILLION to upgrade the Middleboro infrastructure?
Carcieri v Kempthorne (Salazar) pounded the last nails in the coffin of the Mashpee Wampanoag Bingo Hall. Even were Congress to wave its magic wand and provide a miracle cure, there is a deadline specified within their agreement with Kerzner/Wolman that was redacted. How many more years do they have before BIA denies their application?
You might want to keep tabs on Carver Chick who explains these issues more clearly than I can, but Congress will take + 2 years at best to produce MiracleCasinoGrow.
At that point, the Mashpee Wampanoags have NO historical ties to Middleboro -- Not my interpretation, but theirs. The Mashpee Wampanoags never included Middleboro in their application for recognition.
The poster you responded to posted the same elsewhere. Don't waste your time.
This isn't about the casino but they think they can win if they make it so.
This is about the law and how elected people treat voters.
I won't support that kind of conduct with my vote.
I might ask a stupid question next week and won't tolerate that level of contempt/arrogance.
I'm tired of the crap too, Marsha.
This exchange was unprofessional and unacceptable.
Remember this in April and vote.
The people who have misunderstood this issue and are posting other places are disappointing, especially Hal who should know better but is too lazy to look up the law or typical of Hal, simply doesn't 'get it.' He indicated that in this day, DVD should be the 'official record.'
You can't change the process until you change the law, Hal.
The Board was wrong and your buddy, Marsha was wrong.
The video is NOT the public record or archive.
3 members of the bos accepted gifts and that discussion was omitted from the public record.
The issue might not be their integrity. The issue is that they were to ignorant to look up the law and abide by it. If you don't want your integrity challenged, don't accept gifts, accept free meals or socialize. Simple.
Bond returned the gift and publicly stated as much. That should have put the rest of the board on notice that there was a law and they should have checked.
I'm beginning to think that the reason we have elected officials who behave like idiots when it comes to the law is because we have an electorate that is similarly ignorant of the law.
Hal, gather your facts before you bloviate.
This shouldn't be on the job training for Steve Spatero who has been on the board long enough to avail himself of the free seminars that are offered.
While Mimi managed to avoid commenting on this issue, for which we're thankful, she's the worst offender who has failed to avail herself of even what little information is available on the PTWS.
When you read the executive meeting minutes, it's clear that the Gavel Queen's comment have prevailed and only votes are recorded.
That's not acceptable.
People need to complain about this. It doesn't conform with the statutes and Middleborough needs to either expect those in office to adhere to the law or replace them with candidates who will.
I'm like a lot of others in Middleborough who didn't pay attention until the casino came along. You made great efforts to educate voters about how town government worked and you posted bunches of web sites that helped me to understand that I could find the laws myself so I knew what was going on. You even made sure that the video about town meeting and what those motions meant was braodcast on ComCast. That was the video that Jim Thomas gave to the library and ComCast. To me, that defines citizenship. When people reach into their pockets to buy something that will enrich the understanding of others, that's important. When you went out of your way to make sure that video was broadcast before town meeting so that I wouldn't be too embarassed by my ignorance about what went on that means something to me. It made me feel less like an alien. I only went to that meeting because I felt less stupid. I'll keep going and will gradually understand things better.
I'm not sure I understand this issue as well as I should but since others are commenting and know less than I do, I want to offer my 2 cents.
Mr. Solamini asked a question about including a subject in the official record.
The overreaction was uncalled for.
Mr. Spatero could have addressed the issue like a mature adult. The Cheap Seats comment? Those are my seats.
Marsha's sick and tired comment?
Instead of focusing on the town's business, Marsha has focused on the casino. Now that they're millions short Marsha wants to change the subject? I want to talk about what gifts Marsha received. I think I'm probably one of those "persons of a certain caliber" that Mr. Rogers was picking on.
It's only because of you that I watch faithfully or record when we're not home. You nagged and that's good. I understand a little more each meeting and I'm beginning to ask questions.
Not one of these people had to run. Mr. Spatero was the one who said Big Leagues but behaves like a child.
I've learned alot from what you've posted and that's why blogs are important. You need to keep doing things like posting the laws.
I must agree with Gladys. Without the presence of Mr. Bond who helped elect this Board, they are revealed like the "Emperor's New Clothes," standing naked.
They accepted gifts and meals. They were wrong regardless of the value and it should have been added to the record.
Temper tantrums don't win my vote. Competence does and I'm not seeing that with this Board.
There is not one person on that Board that I would vote for again.
In my profession, I frequently appear before the Boards of Selectmen of many other towns.
In my professional opinion, I have never seen a Board that is so poorly acquainted with the statutes they are charged with enforcing or as uninformed as Middleborough's.
It's time for change. If this hasn't convinced you, I'm at a loss to know what will.
I second the poster who thanked Bellicose Bumpkin for posting this clip.
This epitomizes what's wrong with Mboro.
I love this town and hate to see it governed this way. We need to make this better. This has nothing to do with the casino. This has to do with what's right.
I loved Vic Sylvia. He would get up and make comments and sometimes ramble off into something unrelated. The Board treated him with respect because of his dedication knowing his age and physical ailments.
Here, you have a voter and taxpayer who asked a simple question and gets yelled at?
Mr. Spatero compromised his integrity when he accepted gifts. The value isn't important. He shouldn't have done it. He shouldn't have attended their events. I know who I'm voting for.
I'm trying to listen to all sides and read what's posted by others. What I find is a defense by pro-casino supporters for this exchange and that isn't the point that I see.
A voter raised the issue of the way the public record reflected the meeting.
The Middleborough Board of Selectmen has spent 2 years discussing almost exclusively THEE CASINO.
When they are questioned about their conduct they suddenly remember that there's a budget deficit that no one wanted to discuss 2 years ago. The focus was on the $7 or $11 milllion that now won't happen.
I moved here from a town that always planned ahead and tried to save for predictable things like a new school or a ladder truck. I don't see any planning being done and I don't see that there is any savings.
This Board convinced themselves that they would be awash in gold sheckles and didn't have to plan for a future.
Not very smart if you ask me.
I'll give you a personal example.
I pay cash for a new vehicle and make monthly "car payments" to a savings account in excess of what my payments would be so that when the vehicle needs to be replaced I have the cash to buy a new car.
I'm not seeing that in this town.
The mindset is borrow, borrow, borrow.
We know we need so many cruisers each year but there's no money set aside so they're bonded.
Land purchases came up at town meeting that should have been funded with CPA money. The status quo voices oppose it. How shortsighted is that? Screw yourselves because of who proposed it?
I'm optomistic that there are smarter people in this town than those represented by this elected Board. Wiser decisions will prevail in the future. The tantrums witnessed on this video need to indicate the need for change.
A poster said earlier
"Mr. Spatero compromised his integrity when he accepted gifts"
and that's not enough.
It wasn't just Mr. Spatero who compromised his integrity.
Two other members accepted gifts and attended functions of the Tribe.
Only Pat Rogers knew enough about ethics not to put himself in that position.
Don't let Minni Mae and the Gavel Queen off the hook.
This town needs to be rebuilt with qualified candidates.
Voters I hope you make better choices in April.
Earlier in the meeting Brian G got up and asked an inappropriate question knowing so little about town govt that he didn't know the school dept is autonomous.
Is it because he's a casino cheerleader that no one treated him disrespectfully for asking a stupid question?
I took the address posted earlier in the comments and am sending a letter requesting a determination of this issue.
When CPA was discussed, Marsha Brunelle stated, as if she knew what she was talking about, that CPA had 'soundly defeated' at town meeting.
I was at that town meeting and that's not what happened.
She also said that there was major opposition on town meeting floor. The major opposition that stands out in my memory was Neil Rosenthal who presented the same boogeymen he does every time a similar issue is raised.
There were many more who rose in support of CPA at town meetnig. I was one of them.
I've been making a list of the "mis-statements" that Marsha has made and won't bore you with them, but there are many. She's gotten used to making statements that no one questions and it's about time voters started to do so.
Marsha, I'm pretty sick and tired of this crap also. You need to apologize to that man.
It wasn't so long ago that the bos was complaining about not having the money for a new web site. Now they're planning to get it done for free. They would never give the bloggers credit. I do. Or BB's article finally illuminated the darkness.
You wrote about the report Pat Rogers distributed and it's finally finished. How long ago was that?
Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't Ted on the board at the time department heads basically wrote their own contracts? Maybe Middleboro should have all the unions considering giving up pay hikes, perks, etc. or START LAYING OFF in ALL DEPARTMENTS as Fall River or New Bedford are doing. This shows truly the almighty buck means alot more than the so called "BROTHER HOOD" By laying off, yes, we'll be short handed but when you actually take the time to see the little that is actually being done daily by each department it will be worth the lay off.
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