Minutes & Public's Right to Know

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

Since this file is in PDF format, and I cannot deconstruct it into text, not wanting to transcribe it, I have placed it in a file bucket on the web.

You have GOT to read this:

Attorney Bradley's Letter of 12/28/2005

If you need a copy of Adobe's Acrobat Reader just click here: PDF Reader (free!)

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

A short while ago, I received the following email from the Clerk, Town of Wethersfield. Again my highlighting is via underlining. I sent her a message thanking her for her prompt response and her efforts considering the need to gather more information herself. 12/30/2005:

Dr. Sokolowski,

I will be getting the requested information to you. It will take time for my office to review all of the Minutes of meetings that we track.I will have the requested information for you by January 18, 2006.

We file Minutes as we receive them and will have to see which are missing, if any. We will have to compare meetings held with the minutes we have on file.

We do not send them up to be put on the web as we do not receive most of them in an electronic format. When they arrive in electronic format, they usually are addressed to the town clerk as well as data processing. They are responsible for putting them on the Town website--wethersfieldct.com.

Not all minutes are maintained in the office of the town clerk. Some of the following boards and commissions minutes are maintained else where. We will also check the complete list to let you know where all minutes are maintained.

The minutes from Planning & Zoning, Zoning Board of Appeals, Inland Wetlands, Building Committee, Board of Building Appeals, Design Review Advisory Committee, Economic Development and Improvement Commission, Capital Improvements Advisory Committee[ Jan, Feb & Mar only], Conservation Commission, Flood and Erosion Control Board, Historic District Commission are not maintained in the office of the Town Clerk. They are maintained upstairs in Engineering/Building/Planning.

Housing Authority is maintained at 55 Lancaster Road.

Artificial Surface Football Field Advisory Committee has not met in a year or more. Council is scheduled to dismantle it in January.

Library is filed here as well as in the Library.

The complete listing of what we file will be sent to you with the requested information by January 18, 2006.

Respectfully,

Dolores G. Sassano, Town Clerk

[/quote][/size][/b]

[ThinkingMama]

Attorney Bradley's opinion letter is well-reasoned and I hope the Council heeds his advice to strike a balance between the legal minimum and a full transcript. The proposed new format most emphatically does not strike that balance. It is badly skewed in the direction of mere compliance with the letter of the law, as opposed to providing the citizenry the information they need.

[cruzrt]

Earlier today, I was fortunate enough to briefly see the full Council Agenda packet for next week's Council meeting. (That's the set of materials on each agenda item that Council members and a few other people receive). The Atty. Bradley letter is in there, and the packet also contains a couple of other interesting documents authored by town officials. If anybody can get access to those materials, I would urge them to make the effort. There are many more people upset with this topic than we'd imagined.

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

I always wait until late Friday afternoon to pick up a copy of the Manager's report and perhaps look at a copy of the Council "packet" at the Clerk's or Manager's office. (There was no "Manager's report today we were informed last week.) I really wanted to get to Town Hall today, but I was having a broken tooth rebuilt (almost as good as new, I might add) by my fantastic dental magician; I got back into town about 5 minutes too late - you can be sure the doors were locked securely at Town Hall at 4:30 PM especially on a Friday of a long (for many) weekend.

Well, we all know who the Councilors are. If anyone is "close" to one of them, perhaps he/she would "loan" you a copy for an hour or so (they need to study it too, you know). Then you could log on and let us know what you found in the packet which was not touched upon here already (and yes there is more coming, but that will be tomorrow).

cruzrt, you tease, tell us more about these "interesting documents" that you had a chance to glance at. Where did you get to see the copy which you had access to?

( EMF-activated resin-ceramic composites are wonderful, by the way; you can leave the treatment chair and attack a steak - no waiting! )

[cruzrt]

The information in the Council packet included a memo from Dolores Sassano explaining her actions, which had very weak justifications and which did not contain anything that this board hasn't already heard; the Attorney Bradley memo which included his opinions that haveing historical information, knowing the intent of the councillors, and having the means to get insights on how the Council decided issues; and a memo which expressed the displeasure of the Town Department heads, who prefer the former method of doing minutes.

[JackAss]

Why is it in Wethersfield the wheel is always trying to get modified?

It sounds like the Town Clerk's tail is waging the dog.

This is why this position is to important than just to have a hack in there.

By the way, did she pass her certification??

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

jackass said:

Why is it in Wethersfield the wheel is always trying to get modified?

It sounds like the Town Clerk's tail is waging the dog.

This is why this position is to important than just to have a hack in there.

By the way, did she pass her certification??

Since I have only had one cup of espresso so far this monring, I will be brief:

1. I will answer your question with a rhetorical question: Why do we keep buying new car models as the manufactures respond to consumers' idiosyncracies?

2. I do not see this as just a Town Clerk issue alone; hence I have (more or less consistently) referred to the Clerk, the Manager and the Majority Council - there is something (they think) in it for each.

3. Our Town Clerk is not a hack. She is in the position of Clerk, period. She is doing a good job overall. None of us is perfect. We can all do better. We are not her "boss." I have found her most accommodating and helpful in my dealings with the Clerk's office. She is a decent person. However, I believe that the position she is taking is short-sighted at best and a detriment to the public's right to know, and it is that position with which I disagree and will fight.

4. Yes, she is certified and she serves, correct me if I am wrong, at the Council's behest.

Let's encourage concerned Wethersfielders to turn out in number on 1/3/2006 so that they might add their voices of perspective and reason to those already offered the Clerk, Manager and Majority Council.

Email your sympathetic friends; point them here to review what we have offered for their consideration and get them out on Tuesday.

[standish]

cruzrt said:

...the Attorney Bradley memo which included his opinions that haveing (sic) historical information, knowing the intent of the councillors, (sic- these council representatives are not MY counselors, nor is there such a word as councillors... in fact, they should heed the public's counsel!) and having the means to get insights on how the Council decided issues; and a memo which expressed the displeasure of the Town Department heads, who prefer the former method of doing minutes.

It's interesting that Bradley fails to even mention the concerns and positions of the public as reflected in the minutes. In fact, the whole purpose of a Town Meeting is to engage the electorate! Otherwise, we'd simply hold Council Meetings behind closed doors and take votes in caucus... or, is that the trend? Sounds like another famous party that rules the majority population of Asia!

Furthermore, the dialog behind an action is often as important as the outcome (read the Federalist Papers).

[Jubashero]

The town attorney was given the task to express the opinion of whether or not the revised “minutes” met the statutory requirements. He could have ended his correspondences after the first paragraph or so but to his credit, he, as many of us in the community do, realize the importance of minutes in the democratic process and included the politely worded rebuff; a rebuff that apparently is ignored by the clerk.

The debate has been focused on meeting the FOI statutory requirements and not the intent of the FOI. How is the general public to find/participate on an issue before a public agency when the clerk doesn’t even know where the minutes or agenda are maintained?

I believe that the Council will only be given a choice between (1) the revised minutes and meeting the statutory requirements, or (2), the continued practice and not be in compliance. Unfortunately we all lose under those options. Therefore, I propose the following to resolve the conflict:

(1) The town attorney determines which committee must meet the FOI requirements.
(2) Each committee is responsible to forward to the clerk a copy of the agenda for their next meeting 48 hours prior to the meeting. Attached to the agenda is a form for each public issue on which the committee potentially votes.
(3) The clerk logs the agenda on some sort of database and posts a hardcopy in a notebook for public inspection.
(4) Within 24 hours of a committee meeting, a representative forwards the completed forms to the clerk or notifies the clerk who can then complete the blank forms in item (3).
(5) Within 7 days, the committees must forward a draft copy of the minutes to the clerk.
(6) The clerk logs the minutes on some sort of database and posts a hardcopy in a notebook for public inspection.
(7) The minutes are reviewed and approved by the respective committees within a certain specified time period (e.g. within the next subsequent meeting or 2 months). The approved minutes are sent to the clerk and posted on the website.
(8) The clerk logs the approved minutes on some sort of database and replaces the draft copies with the approved minutes in a notebook for public inspection.

[stvman]

The town clerk has opened a big can o worms. She has inadvertently exposed much of the sloppy practices of the town hall. I wonder what else is being badly done up there.

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

I sent the following email to all members of the Town Council a short while ago. You too can do the same by copy/pasting the following comma-delimited addresses as a block into a single line of your email program's TO field. Be sure to at least scan that now transported line to make sure there are no spaces anywhere in it. Such spaces may occur when ProBoards breaks a visible line; thus, I had to remove two spaces when I later tested this advice myself. [/b] As before, I have crippled the link (removed the letter 'a' from the 'proboards26' segment this time) to this thread while here in the thread.

[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail],[e-mail]

2005.12.31
Saturday
15:48 EST
(UT-5:00)

re: Imporant homework for Tuesday's Town Council Meeting

Dear Neighbors serving on the Wethersfield Town Council,

By now you probably have had a chance to at least scan your "packet" from Town Clerk and Manager for Tuesday's important Council meeting.. I am sure you will take the time to review and deliberate on all of the information in it.

Be sure that the issue of changing the format and content of the minutes of the Town Council and the other Boards and Commissions and Committees in Town is being hotly discussed by the involved citizenry of Wethersfield.

My note here is encourage you to look beyond the packet and political considerations and expediencies and to encourage you to do what is best for our Town both short and long-term.

I encourage you to visit a bulletin board in town (not my own) and carefully read and consider the discussion and details which a particular "thread" provides:

wethersfield.probord26.com/index.cgi?board=talkboards&action=display&thread=1135082351

This thread will continue to grow, I am sure, with observations, details, facts and proposals up to the time of the meeting and beyond. So, I encourage you to log in periodically before then. You do not have to register to view the discourse there. Responding online, however, would require it.

Members of the media have been alerted to this thread and have been invited by involved Wethersfielder's to attend the upcoming meeting.

I will personally be addressing you at that time again.

Please review the entire thread and log in periodically before the meeting.

What is being contemplated is not a minor issue nor minor concern.

Sincerely,

Dr.Ken
Sokolowski
Wethersfield, CT

[Dr.Ken Sokolowski]

Copy/pasteing segments of text from a larger, uninterrupted body can be tricky.

Here are the individual email addresses for your convenience, though they are found on a couple other Wethersfield websites already.

[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]
[e-mail]

and note the different domain name for:

[e-mail]
[e-mail]

The members of the Council have said more than once that they are eager to hear from you.

So, don't be shy: email them your meaningful thoughts and concerns - often.

Just remember that when you do, using these assigned municipal addresses, your email and your email address will become available the citizenry via the FOIA/CT.

[morganika]

The council members may SAY they are eager to hear from folks, yet last summer I tried repeatedly to speak with someone, anyone, on the council and never received an answer! I wrote letters and called. I think they only want to hear from us if it is glowing praise.

[Bulldog]

Why do the elected officials think that just because we put them in office that they can change what has been in place for many years.

Let's remember, YOU WORK FOR US!!!!