Selectmen admitted July 20 to the recent discovery that the June 8 Rochester Annual Town Meeting was held without a quorum, resulting in town counsel’s scurrying for a solution.
The Rochester Board of Selectmen, Town Administrator Michael McCue, and Town Counsel Blair Bailey all appeared visibly unprepared for the questioning initiated by former town moderator and former candidate for selectman Greenwood “Woody” Hartley, after he called for selectmen to reopen their July 20 meeting after they had already adjourned so he could address the board.
Hartley claimed to have received a number of phone calls alleging the absence of a quorum of 100 at the Annual Town Meeting, saying the meeting never should have been opened.
Bailey admitted that he became aware of the concern a couple of weeks ago when Town Clerk/Selectman Naida Parker was preparing the documents from the Annual Town Meeting for submission to the Attorney General’s Office and noticed a total number of Town Meeting members present was not listed. She then approached Bailey once she realized only 91 Town Meeting members were present, nine short of a quorum.
“I believe the [attorney general] had mentioned that this is not unusual,” said McCue. “Other towns have had not having a quorum at their annual town meeting.”
Bailey contacted the AG’s office, as well as State Representative Bill Straus’ office, to ask for special legislation that would allow the Annual TM to stand, as well as all the articles voted upon during TM.
The two other selectmen, Chairman Richard Nunes and Selectman Bradford Morse, both said they had only learned of the matter in an email sent to them the night before the meeting.
Hartley wondered how this could happen, saying he could not recall the presence of a quorum being announced or questioned at the start of the Annual TM, only the presence of a quorum of 75 for the preceding Special Town Meeting announced by newly elected Town Moderator Kirby Gilbert.
“I would like to know from the town clerk how that happened,” said Hartley to Parker. He had been town moderator for 20 years, pointing out that this had never happened before.
Parker said she called a quorum of 100 at TM, but “I wasn’t agreed with.”
“This is way more serious,” said Hartley. “I hate to see this happen, and I don’t think we should get a free pass on this (from the AG). Somebody ought to fess up,” he said, instead of “scurrying around behind the scenes.”
Hartley said he himself would contact Straus’ office to specifically ask him not to allow the Annual TM to stand.
“The Town should fix this right away,” said Hartley.
“I agree with you,” said Nunes to Hartley. “When I found out about it, I was just as concerned about it as you.” However, said Nunes, does the Town stick with operating under the fiscal year 2015 budget at this time? Does the Town nullify its amended bylaws? Nunes said nobody knew there was no quorum.
“Naida knew,” Hartley shot back.
“No, I didn’t know until after…” said Parker. “We started the Special (TM) and I never got down to check, and Kirby didn’t call it.”
That is a failure, Hartley stated twice. “That’s just a failure. It should’ve happened the right way.” He said he waited before questioning selectmen and Parker about the quorum to see how they would handle it.
“Good golly, we should have good government and this isn’t good government,” said Hartley.
Nunes pointed out that, last year, Mattapoisett also discovered its town meeting did not have a quorum, and the Town followed the same route Rochester is following – to garner support for special legislation to accept the TM without the quorum. Otherwise, said Nunes, the town accrues further expenses holding another Annual TM, wreaking havoc with the current budget and bylaw amendments.
“It has been reported to the attorney general, so that’s been noted,” said Parker. “They are aware that there was not a quorum.”
To be clear, said Bailey, he didn’t hear about the problem until a couple of weeks ago. He hesitated to announce anything until he could encounter a viable solution to the matter.
“Best I can tell, it was a miscommunication,” said Bailey. “I don’t think he (Gilmore) made a reference to the quorum at the Annual.” Just during the Special Town Meeting.
Nunes assured Hartley that the Town would not have held the town meeting if anyone knew there was no quorum.
“And to me, it was new territory,” said Bailey.
But that is the beauty of having the pink cards, said Hartley. There is a number on each card. “I’m unhappy about the way it makes us look,” said Hartley. Morse said the issue was between the town moderator and the town clerk.
Nunes agreed that Hartley was right, and agreed that the selectmen should have been informed about the petition to Straus’ office so a formal vote could be taken.
“If the Town is asking a state rep to file special legislation, then damn it, the Board of Selectmen should know about it,” said Nunes raising his voice. “They should know about it.”
Bailey insisted he could not come to the board without any idea on what to do – not until he had a solution to offer them. At this point, he said, the Town will wait to hear back from Straus.
“I think the selectmen should take the lead on this,” said Hartley. “I’ve heard two different stories about how it happened.”
Bailey said he understands Hartley’s concern, but he resented the implication that there was a cover-up.
“It falls on me to come up with a legal remedy,” said Bailey. “Sitting right here, I don’t have an answer.”
“My first call would have been all three selectmen,” said Hartley. “Selectmen need to know this shit.”
Parker again defended her actions, saying she didn’t know until almost 30 days later when she was filing with the AG’s office. “I had no reason to count them.”
“However you slice it,” said Bailey, “it’s a mess. The question is how to fix it at this point. And that’s up to the selectmen.”
After the meeting, Bailey said he believes the combination of a new town moderator, a new town administrator, and a newly-amended quorum, which was increased last year from 75 to 100, was where the problem likely happened.
By Jean Perry
