While not as confident in how Wilton’s town counsel may be serving the Board of Finance‘s needs, the BOF’s chairman and members are relatively sure they will retain the unhindered right to communicate with residents through the town’s “E-Alert” email system — despite First Selectman Toni Boucher‘s early objections and the town attorney’s advice against it.
BOF Chair Matt Raimondi briefed his board during its regular monthly meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10 that he planned to propose new guidelines for future BOF communications and had the backing of the four other members of the Board of Selectmen.
“The Board of Selectmen weighed in last week and all four of the members agreed that this is something the Board of Finance should do and they support our position,” Raimondi told the BOF members.
“My understanding from the first selectwoman, and from the members of the Board of Selectmen, is that there is support now for the Board of Finance to communicate with the public,” he said, “and it’s just kind of a matter of laying the railroad tracks down.”
Raimondi and BOF members are invited to the Tuesday, Dec. 17 BOS meeting, at which time he said he will present them with some tentative guidelines on exactly what the BOF would like to see codified as the plan and practice going forward.
“We’ll be meeting with the Board of Selectmen to discuss, effectively, communication guidelines … I’m not sure what it looks like, but that’s kind of the next step here,” Raimondi said.
A Response to ‘Censorship’
This follows events last week when Raimondi claimed Boucher was practicing “censorship” by not allowing him and his board to disseminate a newsletter through the town’s email system in tandem with the full mailing list to which Boucher’s office controls access.
Raimondi attended last week’s (Dec. 2) Board of Selectmen meeting to appeal his case directly to the full BOS.
Boucher had expressed vehement objection and distress regarding Raimondi’s claims that she had practiced censorship and engaged in a form of retribution against the BOF.
“That is patently false,” she said at the Dec. 2 BOS meeting, citing several examples of conflicts and disagreements she and her administration have had with Raimondi and the BOF since she was elected last year that, she implied, could have brought about retribution but didn’t.
“I am deeply, deeply offended by these statements made public,” she said. “It’s unfortunate because we’ve had such a good collaborative relationship with our boards together and I hope that we can in the future.”
Boucher sought the advice of Wilton Town Counsel Ira Bloom regarding her objections to distributing BOF messages to residents, and said that he sided with her.
“He stated specifically … ‘I do not think the chair of any board should be sending direct communications out in this manner on a regular basis,'” Boucher quoted Bloom from a letter he wrote to her and the BOS earlier.
The town, which is currently updating its email system, made a new BOF-only communication option available on its website for people to subscribe to. But, Raimondi noted, as yet no one had even subscribed to it because it hadn’t been announced to residents, and also that the master email list is not Boucher’s to control.
Raimondi said the guidelines he would propose to the BOS next week would specify that the chair was authorized to speak on behalf of the entire board and that all communications would remain objectively factual. In addition, the guidelines would maintain that BOF would self-regulate the content of communications and any messages and updates would be sent to residents in a timely manner.
“I think it seems like a reasonable approach,” BOF member Sandy Arkell said, noting it reflects the practice they’ve had in place over the past year.
Raimondi said the intention is to create a clear procedure in writing.
“The people of Wilton own the town email system,” he said, though it is administered by Boucher’s office.
Separate Legal Counsel for the BOF?
Bloom, who was in attendance at the Dec. 2 BOS meeting, expressed disappointment in Raimondi’s claims of censorship.
“That is not the issue here,” said Bloom, who cited his own decades of experience juxtaposed against Raimondi’s.
“He’s kind of new to this business,” Bloom said of Raimondi, “but, you know, I like him. He’s a very smart guy. His accusations, though, about censorship and transparency are just unfortunate because that’s not the case.”
Unspecified concerns about those comments — as well as the advice Bloom gave dissuading the BOF from appointing one of its members to the Wilton Library‘s Board of Trustees — prompted BOF member Timothy Birch to raise a question of Bloom’s role in serving as their counsel.
“I’m wondering whether or not there may come a time in the future where this board needs to seek independent counsel on issues that relate to our power, governance ability, and whether or not that’s something that we should have a more fulsome conversation on at some meeting in the future, both in terms of whether or not we have the power to do that and the budget power to do that, as well as whether or not it’s permitted under the regulations,” Birch said.
Raimondi responded favorably.
“I think that’s a good question,” he said. “We’ve certainly seen issues quite recently where I think those comments apply in a big way.”
“I think it’s a good conversation to have and we should have it in detail and be prepared for it,” Raimondi said, suggesting it be put on the January agenda.
“Tim, since you’re a lawyer, and a really good one, would you mind taking a look at the charter and trying to figure out the answer to, if that’s in our purview, how would we pay for it, what line item would it fall under, and I would say just the logistics of how it would all work? And then we can come back in January and have a good robust discussion on that.”
As yet, Boucher did not respond to questions regarding the BOF seeking alternate counsel, nor to a clarification on Raimondi’s statements regarding implementing communication guidelines.
Board of Finance – Create your own email distribution list ! You are your own entity … the Board of Selectmen is also their own entity… so is the Library and the Deer Hunting Commission… Stop riding the tailcoats of other groups ! No one is restricting you. You are just being lazy and trying to have others carry your wood for you! Putting your messages out under the Selectmen’s distribution list – as I assume is your unspoken reason for doing it – suggests – it has The Selectmen’s approval and blessing. Carry your own water and own it for goodness sake ! Stop blaming Toni Boucher for your own laziness in not creating your own distribution list !
Yes, this entire cat fight is ridiculous. As a property owner, I expect the BOF to do its job, and I don’t need to hear every detail in a string of emails. Put your decision it on the website, don’t harass me with your emails. This is why you are there.