3 Wrongs Don’t Make IT Right !
The vote to appoint Carol Skelton interim coordinator by “team Columbus” on Thursday April 12th raises some serious issues which will have a negative impact on the town.
Why was the vacancy for the position of town coordinator not posted? Why were there no interviews? Does Ms. Skelton meet the minimum education requirements of the job description for Town Coordinator? Will a Cori check and physical exam be required of Ms. Skelton? What are the hours and rate of pay for the interim town coordinator? From which account will the money come from to pay Ms. Skelton? Or is a lack of funds in the town coordinator salary account the reason the Advisory has posted a meeting for Wednesday April 18th? Has Ms. Skelton dropped her MCAD complaint against the Town of Templeton?
In the settlement from the Skelton’s first lawsuit against the town, within the section “Present work capacity” it states: “100% other than same environment with Employer”. A different page within this document, states that Carol Skelton “should not return to her former work environment”. Will any employment agreement between the Town of Templeton and Carol Skelton be executed in open session as was the case with Jeffrey Ritter’s contract?
Will the town have any protection against a third lawsuit filed by the Skeltons? The Skeltons’ lawsuit in 1995 began with a compliant filed with MCAD and was transferred to Worcester Superior Court. Is it part of the plan to reappoint Carol Skelton interim town coordinator so she can find more information to further her lawsuits against the Town of Templeton or to gather more information for yet another lawsuit?
The ACLU has a number of useful guides on demonstrations and protests. Know Your Rights outlines some general practices for peaceful assembly. I plan to attend a peaceful assembly at 690 Patriots Road on Tuesday April 17th. I have a number of public record requests to file for information regarding the purchase of 3 new desks in the BOS office and a color printer. I will also request a copy of the latest budget to actual figures for town departments.
Julie Farrell (Please click on the blue links)
right in the job description it states a bachelor's degree in public administration or business management required. It also states "has access to town-wide confidential information requiring the application of appropriate judgement, discretion and professional protocols. so columbus, wilder and "srapit boy" mullins think it is appropriate to give unfettered access to a person who filed suit against the town....again, just another thing to add to the list of reasons for recall of mullins and wilder. I do however hear of some more troubles for mr. mullins up in winchendon, something about possible misue of town funds, using town account to avoide sales tax which leads to a littlle thing called fraud. we need many many letters to the AG, IG ethics divisions of massachusetts and we also need letters to newspapers (not the gardner news) and letters with documents and dvd's to television news stations. perhaps even a few state reps. Now tell us why you cannot help us?
ReplyDeleteIs her resume public record - seems we all new what Jeff Ritter's and the other applicants credentials were. let's see them Carol - She always said she was an english teacher at Monty Tech does anyone remember her as a teacher there. and as far as "scrap boy" mullins - I heard that it wasn't just to avoid paying sales tax - it was to have the town of winchendon pay for the parts for his truck - also something about a new weed wacker at his house charged to winchendon. I think we all need to see a copy of Mullins' ethics test!
ReplyDeleteOne more thing - With Julie and Bob M not in office anymore and Jeff Ritter gone. What we see posted here is the Respondents' Position Statement - do we know if there has been any more correspondence regarding this lawsuit - with Carol and K & P in there how do we know that things won't be "hidden" from us taxpayers and settled on the side. Does Julie, Jeff and Bob M get copies of the lawsuit correspondence mailed to them at their homes?
ReplyDeletereumes are very public records and it says so in the open meeting law and the secretary of the commonwealth. The respondents have contact information for Mr. Keston who up until this point has been representing the town. I will be requesting a formal legal opinion from Kopelman on this matter. A formal legal opinion has to be in writing and on file at the town clerks office per mass general law. I want to see what lenny has to say. Of course len Kopelman stated at his interview that he works for the majority of the board of selectmen, if that tells you any thing. Request if a cori chaeck has been done, ask if a physical has been done and ask for her resume.
ReplyDeleteI hope more of the town sees these documents (which are just the tip of the iceberg of what else is involved, in my opinion) to get more of an idea of what we bloggers are so ticked about. It's NOT just a bitch session as I have heard it described. There are some very SERIOUS wrong doings that have gone on for at least the past 10 years, as Pauly says. Anyway thanks, Julie, as always, for looking out for the town. You have served Templeton well in & out of office!! Now, let's get her back in to continue with the good work she started! Vote Farrell for Selectman in fast approaching May election!!
ReplyDeleteThese are all very good questions that should be asked and the resume should be seen. If she had a CORI check and a physical, then those documents would be confidential, so if they say "yes" you can not see the proof. On another subject, if Mr. Skelton signed for the loan from the USDA, and he was not a member of the BOS at the time, than why is the loan even valid? This is illegal, misrepresentation of the BOS and should be null and void. If there is no written proof that he was authorized to sign, then this shouldn't even be an issue. Has anyone contacted the USDA to inform them that he was not authorized to sign and the loan should null and void? I know that the current BOS will never do that, but before the recall, did the BOS contact them? If so, then perhaps someone can ask the USDA what became of their correspondence to them.
ReplyDeleteI also found it quite amusing to hear Ms. Wilder's answer to a question that was asked regarding what about moving forward, her responses was "you are not allowing us to". They hired the previous law firms, hired the previous town coordinator is not moving forward in my opinion. They are doing whatever they want to do, and if they think hiring these people back is moving forward then they really are disturbed. I think she meant that the townspeople are not allowing them to do what the Skeltons want them to do.
I watched the video of the 4/12 meeting last night. I was shocked at the way it was handled. Members of my family where there and told me about it, but to actually see it was amazing. Mr. Columbus and Ms. Wilder were rude and arrogant. Mr. Mullins did not have much to say (wonder why). I do want to commend Chris Stewart for finally speaking out and letting us know his true feelings with regard to the situation. It may be a little late, but I knew he would come around. Jeff Bennett deserves a lot of credit for having the guts to stand up to all of these people. As I said in a previous post, I cannot believe that Carol wants to return to the Town Coordinator's office. She really must have a "mission". Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteYes, I believe she does!! That is why she should NOT be allowed any place near personal, confidential, sensative info. She has already done her share of REDACTING numerous documents that have been requested by & for the townspeople to review under the FOIA (Freedom of information Act) What are they hiding? Also, the FOIA doesn't do much good if all the pertinent info has been "lost", altered or redacted. Now, do we want an employee back there who has a pattern of this behavior? And now that they know we are really on to them it is only going to get worse. She & all her cohorts should NOT be allowed in any of those offices alone. They most likely have another place where they have conducted improper business or there is probably not much left for "secret" info but just in case, there still needs to be at least one preferably 2 impartial residents/taxpayers as her chaperones, at all times so nothing goes missing, until we get a qualified coordinator. I doubt that Mr. Ritter would want to come back here but one can hope & pray. All said are just my opinions expressed in all my blogs.
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