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09/23/2020 12:00 AMWestbrook First Selectman Noel Bishop is under fire from critics who claim that he, together with other town Republicans, usurped the authority of the Board of Finance (BOF) to appoint a prominent town Republican to a vacated BOF seat.
On Sept. 8, the Board of Selectmen (BOS), at a special meeting called by Bishop, appointed Republican Paul Winch to fill a seat vacated by former BOF chair Paul Connolly, also a Republican. Bishop and Selectman John Hall, both Republicans, voted for the appointment. Democrat Hiram Fuchs abstained, saying the public good was not being served by the BOS’s action.
The special meeting had one agenda item: “Discussion and possible action [on the] BOF vacancy.”
On Sept. 4 at 11:59 a.m.—one minute before Town Hall closed to the public for the three-day Labor Day weekend—the First Selectman’s Office sent the Sept. 8 special meeting agenda to its regular email list. While the sole focus of the meeting was the BOF seat, members of the BOF were not directly notified.
The date of the meeting was Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, allowing little opportunity for inquiries about it. This was scheduled eight days before a BOF meeting on Sept. 16 that had been called specifically to consider and vote for a replacement, per its statutory authority and the advice of town counsel.
Winch is chairman of the Westbrook Foundation, an elected member of the Library Board of Trustees, and vice chairman of the Republican Town Committee (RTC).
Surprise Statute
Bishop has maintained that he was notified by “members of the public” 12 days before the Sept. 8 BOS meeting about Connecticut General Statute 7-107, which grants the BOS the ability to fill a board vacancy if the board fails to do so “within 30 days after it occurs.”
The statute states that in such cases, the “board of selectmen...may appoint a qualified person to fill such vacancy until the next municipal election.”
Upon being made aware of the existence of the statute, Bishop requested the advice of Town Attorney Duncan Forsythe, who responded with a letter to Bishop dated Sept. 2 reiterating the text of 7-107 and underlining the word “may” for emphasis.
“Since the statute utilizes the term ‘may,’ the decision by the BOS...to fill the position is discretionary,” Forsyth wrote.
Forsyth’s letter was not shared with the BOF, nor were its members informed about the statute or advised that the BOS was considering action.
Democratic Town Committee (DTC )Chair Katherine Sullivan, who is on the email list to receive BOS agendas and minutes, was astonished on Sept. 4 to see the meeting agenda.
“Everybody was scrambling over Labor Day weekend, trying to understand what this statute was,” she said. “We were a little dumbfounded.”
Bishop has declined to name those he says brought statute 7-107 to his attention.
Vacated Seat
Connolly had been absent from meetings since March 5 for reasons of health and the BOF had since been operating without an official chair. Gary Gavigan, who has served on the BOF for about 20 years, presided over meetings in Connolly’s absence. According to BOF member Chris Ehlert, this was at the request of Finance Director Donna Castracane.
Connolly submitted his resignation letter to the three selectmen by email on July 23, one day after the BOF’s regular July 22 meeting. There were no BOF members copied on his letter. Connolly did not respond to questions about the timing of his resignation or to whom he sent it.
Bishop added Connolly’s resignation to the agenda of the regular BOS meeting on July 23 and the selectmen voted unanimously to accept it.
Five days later, on July 28, Bishop’s executive assistant, Suzanne Helchowski, forwarded Connolly’s resignation letter to Castracane with a request that she send it to the members of the BOF.
According to Bishop, on July 28 he had the open seat posted on the town website. The notice instructed those interested to submit a “brief résumé on their experiences and related matters on financial issues” to the First Selectman’s office by Aug. 14 at noon. According to Bishop, this is regular procedure when a seat is vacated on a town board. Bishop acknowledged that he set the deadline himself, giving interested residents three weeks to submit applications.
Bishop said he believed the notice was also posted in Harbor News, but a review of the three papers published July 28 through Aug. 14 did not reveal such a notice and there is no record of a request.
Bishop said his office also informed the chairs of the RTC and DTC of the opening.
There is no indication that Bishop consulted with any members of the BOF before taking these actions.
It is common practice for interested parties to submit their names at the BOF meeting scheduled for the purpose of choosing a replacement for the vacated seat. Forsyth acknowledged at the Sept. 8 BOS meeting that this practice is acceptable.
On Aug. 10, RTC Chair Lee McNamar sent a letter to Bishop recommending Winch for the seat. The following day, McNamar forwarded his letter to the members of the BOF. According to Bishop, the letter was filed by his office with the town clerk.
BOF Appointment Process
In response to a request by Bishop, Forsyth provided guidance on the process to fill Connolly’s seat. In his Aug. 13 letter, addressed to Bishop, Forsyth focused almost entirely on Section 7-343 of the Connecticut General Statutes, which specifically addresses the process for filling vacancies on municipal boards of finance.
Statute 7-343 states that the BOF chair must call a special meeting for the purpose of appointing the new member, who is to be elected by a vote of BOF members. Forsyth emphasized the need for the BOF to elect a new chair and suggested that this be done at the next regular BOF meeting on Aug. 19. He also suggested that in accordance with Section 7-342 the BOF appoint a clerk.
Bishop’s office forwarded Forsyth’s letter to the members of the BOF on Aug. 14, along with a “proposed agenda” for the Aug. 19 BOF meeting, as Bishop referred to it in his accompanying email.
The agenda the BOF received from Bishop was unusual, Gavigan said.
“The finance director, Donna [Castracane], generally took care of the agendas because most of the information was in her office,” Gavigan explained by phone. He added that he doesn’t believe that Castracane had drafted this agenda “because it was totally different from any other agenda I’ve seen in 20 years” that he’s served on the BOF.
Ehlert said he believes that the agenda was composed by Bishop; in an email to Harbor News, Bishop denied this.
The agenda did not include the usual items found on BOF regular meetings, such as appropriations, financial reports, and budget transfers. After the call to order, the first order of business was “Elect a Temporary Chair.”
Asked why the BOF didn’t change the agenda or create a new one, Gavigan explained that the agenda Bishop sent to the BOF “was posted and therefore, we can’t adjust any portion of that agenda or speak to anything” unless the members vote to amend it during the meeting.
BOF members did amend it at the meeting, voting first for a temporary chair then adding an agenda item to appoint a permanent chair. Gavigan was elected unanimously.
Item 3 of the agenda provided to the BOF was “Set Date to Interview Potential Board of Finance Candidates.” Ehlert proposed a motion to remove this item as, according to the instructions provided by Forsyth, it is the chair’s responsibility to set the date of the meeting, and not the members.
Discussion ensued as to whether the BOF members should be polled about the meeting date, but ultimately, the motion to remove Item 3 and allow Gavigan, now permanent BOF chair, to set the date of the meeting was passed unanimously.
Gavigan promised to contact members about their availability.
In accordance with Forsyth’s advice, a further agenda item was added to appoint a clerk and members voted unanimously to appoint Kate Gilstad-Hayden.
Ultimately, Gavigan scheduled the special BOF meeting immediately before its regular Sept. 16 meeting.
Sept. 8 BOS Meeting
Asked to submit the DTC’s recommendation to the BOF by Aug. 30, Sullivan nominated Gregory Farnoli, an unaffiliated voter. She sent her Aug. 29 letter to the BOF only, and not to Bishop.
Bishop seemed to discount the DTC’s nomination of Farnoli at the Sept. 8 BOS meeting because it wasn’t submitted to his office or filed with the town clerk. Neither, however, is a requirement laid out in Statute 7-343. Bishop also contended that the “process technically was closed” by the time the DTC letter was submitted.
It is common practice for residents to make their interest known at the special BOF meeting set up for that purpose.
Bishop acknowledged that there was no mandate for the BOS to fill the seat.
“[W]e believe the BOS may act—[Statute 7-107] does not say we have to act,” he said.
Fuchs pointed out that the law gives the BOS the authority to appoint someone after 30 days “except as otherwise provided by law.” And the law, he asserted, “states that the BOF should be selecting its own member.”
The BOF was very carefully following the advice provided by the town attorney, Fuchs maintained. He asked Forsyth whether a private client in a similar situation would feel it had been poorly advised.
Forsyth suggested that he was unaware of the existence of 7-107 when he wrote his Aug. 13 letter outlining the process for the BOF to fill the vacated seat.
As for the two statutes, “one [3-343] deals with a process and the other [7-107] deals with a statutory timeline to act,” he said. Whether or not the BOS moves to appoint someone after the 30 days “is entirely within its discretion...That is a policy decision. That is a political decision.”
As the BOF had scheduled its meeting for Sept. 16, just eight days away, Fuchs asked Bishop if he thought “the public interest is served to short circuit this process to save eight days on not having a BOF member?”
Bishop did not directly answer this question and, when asked by Harbor News what the urgency was that drove the decision to have the BOS step in, he changed the subject. He has acknowledged that over his 12-year tenure, the BOS has never prevented a board from filling its own vacant seat.
After more than an hour of public discussion, Bishop called on Winch to state his qualifications for the position. Bishop did not ask the same of Farnoli.
Asked later why that was, Bishop said he did not know about Farnoli’s nomination.
Hall, who had asked to share his opinion after members of the public had a chance to speak, said there was “enough politics here to go around on both sides.”
In his experience as chair of a board for 25 years, he said that board had always filled vacated seats with someone of the same party.
“[W]e never substituted our judgment for the judgment and wishes of the voters,” he said. “I think this smacks of a few people wanting to substitute their judgment for that of the voters.”
Sept. 16 BOF Meeting
The BOF held its special meeting on Sept. 16, immediately preceding its regular meeting.
“[T]his board was stripped of its statutory responsibility on Sept. 8 by the enactment of state statute 7-107,” Gavigan said.
“I have sat on this board for many years and during that time there have been at least four resignations, both Democrats and Republicans...and never once was there confusion and misrepresentation created by the first selectman and town counsel as there was for filling this particular vacancy,” he said.
Gavigan also expressed displeasure that only one of the two candidates had been asked to state his qualifications before the vote was taken by the BOS.
Farnoli suggested that the BOF seat one or more alternates, giving additional people the chance to participate and step in in the case of a future vacancy.
A third candidate spoke up at the meeting to express his interest in the BOF seat. Paul Beaulieu, a former Cromwell first selectman who said he’d served on the Cromwell BOF for 14 years, was disappointed that the seat was no longer available.
Phone messages left for Farnoli and Beaulieu were not returned by press time.