Paul Foley's Take on the Judgment Against the Town

Here’s my take on the $650,000 judgment against the Town……

Way back when (2007), the Town needed to renovate the Lakeview Avenue Bridge.  RFP’s (request for proposals) went out, bids were sorted and a construction firm was engaged.  The State, the Town and the construction firm went to work.  Along the way, problems developed, delays occurred, fingers were pointed, and costs went up; but eventually the construction was completed. The construction firm claimed damages against the Town and the Town claimed damages against the firm.  Both engaged lawyers and the arbitration process began. The claim against the Town was for $1.1 million and the construction firm would not settle. The Town had to defend itself which proved to be costly. The Town had a budget for those legal expenses and it was approved by the Board of Finance and Town Council. The legal expenses were within the budget (but don’t get distracted by THAT argument). After three years of arbitration, on February 24th, 2011, a judgment was rendered against the Town for $650,000.  They won, we lost. The Town had until March 26th to pay the award.  Pretty straight forward up to this point.

Here is where the drama begins.

The First Selectman, Jeb Walker, said nothing about this judgment to the Board of Finance or the Town Council until May 2011. He admits he made an error in doing so. He also claimed that he did not tell the Chairman of the Town Council, Mark
DeWaele, until March 28th, 2011. From the time of the notice of the award in February, numerous Board of Finance and Town Council 2011-2012 budget review meetings were held with no mention of the judgment. As a side note, the Board of Finance, with no member objecting, at the March 1st, 2011 meeting voted to raise the First Selectman’s salary by 8% for this coming year and by an additional 2.5% in 2013. I guess that was more pressing than a bill in the draw for $650,000. Anyway, time moved along and many Town Council meetings regarding the Town’s Long Range Planning Committee and its funding, Main Street sidewalk hearings, and even a referendum were held. No mention of the payment of $650,000 from either the First Selectman or now from the Chairman of the Town Council. Where’s the promised transparency?

On March 15th, 2011, the Board of Finance, chaired by Mr. Walker, passed the 2011-2012 budget. The Town Council approved it on April 13, 2011.  Once again, no mention of the payment of $650,000 from either the First Selectman or from the Chairman of the Town Council.

Then, on May 10th, 2011 the Board of Finance set the new 2011-2012 mill rate. The Board of Finance, at the same meeting, voted unanimously to bond the $650,000 payment. Please review the Channel 79 tape of that meeting. They then sent that recommendation on to the Town Council.  This is when I and most all other Town
Council members first learned of the $650,000 payment.

The drama builds….

Town Council members were shocked to discover this chain of events right before the May 18th, 2011 meeting to approve the bond. I debated, along with others, that this was not a bondable financing.  My reading and understanding of the Town Charter lead me to the conclusion that judgments against the Town are not bondable (Town Charter C5-25). Much discussion occurred and resulted in “must watch TV”. 

At the end of the debate, a vote was taken to expense the award 6-4; no
bond. I, in fact, left the meeting believing that we had a fair and spirited
debate. No hard feelings.

However, we moved on to a scripted Special Meeting of the Town Council on May 23rd.  Whenever Town Council members read from extensive notes, I get weary. We all prepare for meetings, but this was over the top. I was insulted and embarrassed by the interrogation tactic used by the Chairman of the Town Council, Mark DeWaele, on Town employees and other elected officials.  This was an extremely low point in the history of our town’s government. The end result of the meeting was predictable; The First Selectman was thrown under the bus (he’s not running again anyway so he’s expendable), a committee was formed to review the process and to assure the desired conclusions.

Looking back, had we been informed of this judgment against the Town on February 25th we could have addressed it and solved it. No Drama.

Here is my advice for the special committee:  We have a Town Charter, read it and follow it. When in doubt, ask.

Sincerely,
Paul Foley

Republican Member of the Town Council