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Home My Public Portal AboutSelect Board -- 2021-05-24 Minutes (3) vAAAAAAAppAAlilllll IIIIIIlIU//J�J// .: . v0 IRE W S T OQ D o*XDER Q9 F si9 , I .. . 1 Office of: _ �aQ � Town of Brewster I p N 2198 Main Street 1 I Select Board or, Brewster, MA 02631 - 1898Town Administrator It Phone : (508) 896 -3701 '�///// FOO RPOP /J J J/ fa. 19. 110 MINUTES OF THE SELECT BOARD EXECUTIVE SESSION MINUTES DATE : May 24, 2021 TIME : S : 4SPM PLACE : Remote Teleconference ALL PARTICIPANTS ARE PARTICIPATING REMOTELY : Chair Chaffee , Selectperson deRuyter, Selectperson Bingham , Selectperson Chatelain, Selectperson Whitney, Town Administrator Peter Lombardi , Assistant Town Administrator Susan Broderick, Chief Heath Eldredge, Paul Hodnett-Town Counsel Call to Order, Declaration of a Quorum , and Meeting Participation and Recording Statement Chair Chaffee called the meeting to order at 5 : 55pm, announced all Select Board members present and declared a quorum . Chair Chaffee read both the meeting participation statement and recording statement . Executive Session Chair Chaffee stated that the Board would be going into executive session to discuss strategy with respect to litigation when an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government' s litigating position ( Lanctot, et al v . Town of Brewster) , and to conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non - union personnel and to conduct contract negotiations with non - union personnel (Town Administrator) and would be returning to open session to complete the rest of the items . Selectperson Bingham moved to go into Executive Session at 6 : 52pm . Selectperson Whitney second . A roll call vote was taken . Selectperson deRuyter- yes, Selectperson Bingham -yes, Selectperson Whitney-yes, Selectperson Chatelain -yes, Chair votes yes . The Board vote was 5 ,,, yes, 0- No . Each person stated : "There is no other person present or able to hear the discussion at this remote location . " To discuss strategy with respect to litigation when an open meeting may have a detrimental effect on the government' s litigating position ( Lanctot, et al v . Town of Brewster) Attorney Hodnett gave the background information on this case which began in the Spring 2017 . It is a two- count civil action that is pending in Superior court . It involves the nonpayment of wages . The claim is brought by the plaintiffs , three police officers currently employed by Brewster Police Department . The complaint by the officers is that they believe they should have been paid at the lowest rate of a police officer while attending the Police Academy . This complaint alleges that the three officers, when attending the academy where paid as cadets as opposed to the entry level of a police officer . The argument is based upon on a Superior court BoS 05 . 24 . 22 ( pm session ) www . brewster-ma . gov Page 1 of 3 DOC ID : deOb8f9df6b2e75902d9395bdl2e10bd820a74a3 ��oa\��\uummnnuu/i \\\\ �VLE W S / 0 o ° `°ERB9 � Town of Brewster Office of: '' SX 2198 Main Street Select Board _ 3ci a ° 9 = $ (n = ° r. Brewster, MA 026314898 Town Administrator Phone : (508) 896 -3701 /l// !/en0 1116;10 0 � o 0\ case that Mr. Hodnett believes is not applicable . The Plaintiffs when hires, were hired as cadets and signed an employment agreement . In the agreement they agreed to a specific wage and agreed that they would not be paid as police officers or sworn in as police officers until they graduated the police academy . The statute reads that the cadets will be paid at the rate to the position in which they were appointed , in this case all three were appointed as police cadets . The dispute in this case is what is the appropriate hourly rate of pay that they should have received for the 12 weeks that they were being trained at the academy . During the time the case has been pending, there has been agreement on all the underlying facts in the case, there will be no trail . The damages that each individual is seeking is the difference between what they were paid and the first level of a police officer, a total for all three of approximately $ 9 , 500 . Attorney Hodnett stated that the second complaint is nonpayment of wages statute , Under the remedial action of the legislator of triple damages, there is a potential damage award by the court in this case . Mr . Hodnett believes based upon the facts, the case that the plaintiffs are relying on does not apply to this particular case . Again , they were not appointed as police officers when they attended the police academy, and it is not required to be a police officer to attend the police academy . Mr . Hodnett believes the Town has a strong case but cannot predict what the court will do . Mr . Hodnett added that he expects the argument will be held the third week of June at Barnstable Superior Court, adding that there is a 3 -year statute of limitations . Chief Eldredge left the meeting . To conduct strategy sessions in preparation for negotiations with non - union personnel and to conduct contract negotiations with non -union personnel (Town Administrator) Selectperson deRuyter summarized the draft contract in the packet and noted no changes were proposed as a result of past Select Board discussion . The proposed salary in the contract is based on a similar analysis of surrounding communities, much like the Compensation and Classification completed for positions within the Town . This is a 5 -year agreement, the net effect is 4 additional years of Mr . Lombardi ' s employment . Selectperson deRuyter moved to sign the Town Administrator' s contract dated July 1, 2021 and runs through June 30, 2026 . Selectperson Bingham second . There was a roll call vote; Selectperson deRuyter — Yes, Selectperson Bingham — Yes, Selectperson Whitney — yes, Selectperson Chatelain — Yes, Chair Chaffee — Yes . The Board vote was, 5 -Yes, 0- No . Selectperson Bingham moved to dissolve executive session at 7 : 16pm . Selectperson Whitney second . There was a roll call vote, Selectperson deRuyter — Yes, Selectperson Bingham — Yes, Selectperson Whitney — yes, Selectperson Chatelain — Yes, Chair Chaffee — Yes . The Board vote was, 5 -Yes, 0 - No . BoS 05 . 24 . 22 ( pm session ) www . brewster-ma . gov Page 2 of 3 DOC ID : deOb8f9df6b2e75902d9395bdl2e10bd820a74a3 I I �\\\\1\llllllllllllfl((!!!!!! \ 0\\ �4EWS � , � ti�oEAsgF9 Town of Brewster office of : F O Q Fh / 2198 Main Street Select Board Brewster, MA 02631 - 1898 Town Administrator Phone : (508) 89611113701 Pee Respectively Submitted by : Erika Mawn Approved : 11 / 15 / 2022 Signed : �� Virus Date Kari Hoffmann, Select Board Clerk Date Released : 2/27/2023 BoS 05 . 24 . 22 ( pm session ) www . brewster- ma . gov Page 3 of 3 DOC ID : deOb8f9df6b2e75902d9395bd12e10bd820a74a3