Petropoulos Wants Policy For Executive Session Minutes Release

What started out as a usually routine approval of release of Executive Session minutes, turned into a discussion of who has responsibility for determining whether or not the minutes should be released and when there was no longer a reason to keep them private.

Selectmen can designate Town Manager Mark Haddad or someone else to review and determine that executive session minutes are all right to release.

Selectman Jack Petropoulos suggested that the Board establish a policy on who can review these minutes, concerned that there could be a conflict of interest on the part of the reviewer. He recommended that the Board ask town counsel to review the policy.

Selectman Peter Cunningham disagreed with Petropoulos saying, "The public is informed when the minutes are no longer confidential." Cunningham suggested that using town counsel was an added expense, noting that there was a "certain level of detachment." Petropoulos replied that the "detachment is exactly what I am asking for." Cunningham noted that he was unaware of any communities that were doing this type of legal review before releasing executive session minutes.

Selectman Anna Eliot commented, "We review these and then decide when to release them. They are our minutes and it is our obligation to decide."

Colleague Stuart Schulman pointed out that it has been the same for the last six years and that it was "making something out of nothing, to be talking to lawyers. Why not hire a private investigator? This is out of hand."

Board Chairman Josh Degen stressed that any executive session minutes that relate to personnel can be withheld. "We are all capable as is the Town Manager. We can handle this ourselves."