HomeMy Public PortalAbout1-6-10 Special Town Council Meeting MinutesELECTED OFFICIALS:
Mark S. Sideris,
Council President
Stephen P. Corbett,
Council Vice -President
John A. Donohue,
Councilor At Large
Susan G. Falkoff,
Councilor At Large
Anthony Palomba,
Councilor At Large
Angeline B. Kounelis,
District A Councilor
Cecilia Lenk,
District B Councilor
Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr.,
District C Councilor
John J. Lawn, Jr.,
District D Councilor
Watertown Town Council
Administration Building
149 Main Street
Watertown, MA 02472
Phone: 617-972-6470
TOWN COUNCIL SPECIAL MEETING MINUTES
January 6, 2010
A special meeting of the Town Council was called to order at 6:30 pm in the Richard E.
Mastrangelo Chamber, Administration Building. Present for the meeting were
Councilors Stephen P. Corbett, John A. Donohue, Susan G. Falkoff, Angeline B. Kounelis,
John J. Lawn, Jr., Cecilia Lenk, Anthony Palomba, Vincent J. Piccirilli, Jr., and Council
President Mark Sideris. Also present were Town Manager Michael J. Driscoll and Town
Attorney Mark Reich. The purpose of the meeting was to provide the Town Council
with updates on the Open Meeting Law and the Conflict of Interest Law.
1. The Town Attorney provided an overview of the existing Open Meeting Law, and
advised that the new Open Meeting Law will take effect July 1, 2010. Open Meeting
Law Guidelines dated April 2009 are on the Attorney General's website
www.mass.gov/ago
2. President Sideris asked that the Town Attorney provide the Council an update on the
Open Meeting Law changes in June, before they go into effect.
3. The Town Attorney described prohibitions on serial calling or emailing which could fit
the definition of deliberation, and advised against one councilor emailing all councilors.
He recommended that documents be sent to the Council Clerk for her to distribute to
all councilors.
4. The Town Attorney reminded the Council that any correspondence received or sent by
a public official, regarding any issue related to his or her public duties, is a public record
and is subject to record retention laws. This includes email, even if sent from a personal
email account.
5. The Town Attorney provided an overview of the Conflict of Interest Law, as detailed in
the attached memo from the Town Clerk. Each councilor must sign and return the
receipt, as well as take the training program.
6. President Sideris proposed a new policy to the Council regarding attorney fees. In the
past, individual members have contacted the Town Attorney to write proposed
resolutions or ordinances without the knowledge of the Council, which were then voted
down by the Council. This represents a waste of taxpayer's dollars. The President
would like the Council to discuss and authorize the spending of legal fees with a
majority vote. The Council agreed to include this in the Council Rules, with the
following clarifications:
a. Councilors may continue to call the Town Attorney for no -charge telephone advice.
b. Committee chairs may request the Town Attorney to produce or review documents, if
the matter was referred to the committee by vote.
c. Councilors may make requests for information to the Town Manager who, at his
discretion, may expend legal fees to comply with the request.
The meeting adjourned at 8:45 pm.