FOI ruling in favor of town on complaint by former foreman

CORNWALL — A draft decision has been reached in the Freedom of Information (FOI) complaint made by former Highway Department Foreman Rick Stone against the Board of Selectmen.Hours of testimony were collected at a May meeting in Hartford with FOI Hearing Officer Tracie Brown. Her conclusion was in favor of the board, citing only a failure by the board to be adequately descriptive about an executive session. The proposed final decision was scheduled to be put before the FOI Commission on Aug. 24. Each side was to have a chance to make additional comments. Cornwall First Selectman Gordon Ridgway said he planned to attend with Cornwall Town Attorney Perley Grimes, but he did not plan to comment. The meeting was held after The Lakeville Journal went to press.Stone hired an attorney and filed a complaint last fall after an Oct. 26 meeting with the board, held mostly in executive session, where he resigned from the job he had held for about four years.At issue was the use of town funds to pay for fuel and a replacement part for a piece of construction equipment Stone used for town work. The day after the meeting, Stone brought two personal checks to Town Hall to reimburse those costs, which totaled $311.Days later, he filed a complaint claiming that the special board meeting was not properly noticed; that he was told it was to be about the highway department budget, rather than his job performance; and that he was not given the opportunity to exercise his right to keep the discussion public. He claimed he was coerced into resigning and should be reinstated.The FOI Commission has the power to void decisions made in meetings where violations of the Freedom of Information Act have occurred. Brown concluded her four-page report by saying that Stone’s “request for relief is denied,” and recommending the Board of Selectmen comply with requirements of noticing meetings with regard to more detail.She cited case law to show that the meeting agenda (which said, “1. Executive Session: Personnel, 2. Public Session: Personnel”) violated a provision of the FOI statutes.“This commission has repeatedly stated that in order for the public to be fairly apprised of the reason for an executive session, the public agency must give some specific indication of the specific topic to be addressed, prior to convening such session. “Therefore, descriptions such as ‘personnel,’ ‘personnel matters,’ ‘legal,’ or even ‘the appointment, employment, performance, evaluation, health, dismissal of a public officer or employee’ are inadequate and do not state the reason for convening in executive session, within the meaning of [state statute] 1-225(f), G.S.”At the Aug. 16 board meeting, Selectman Richard Bramley said, “It was a good finding. She captured the essence of what she heard.” Ridgway said that after the November municipal election, a training session for town board and commission members will be scheduled to address FOI requirements.

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