How late is too late?

John Alessandro has been mulling that question for days, ever since the financial town meeting when he and another member of the town’s Committee on Appropriations were voted out during an election that took place after midnight and more than five hours into the FTM.

Mr. Alessandro knew what the results of the election would be before anyone cast a single ballot. At around 10:45 p.m. on Wednesday, June 16, just minutes after taxpayers voted (by the slimmest of margins) to spend $3.5 million to purchase the Carmelite Monastery property, Mr. Alessandro saw many of his supporters leave the meeting. Disappointed in the vote’s outcome, they were going home. It was late, and there was work the next day.

Mr. Alessandro said it was at that time when officials — the town moderator perhaps — would have been wise to continue the meeting to the next day.

“We should never vote after midnight,” Mr. Alessandro said. 

The former school committee member said other town boards and commissions set time limits to their meetings, but that was not the case at the June 16 FTM. Instead, Barrington Town Moderator Richard Staples, running his first financial town meeting, opted to forge ahead. While members of the board of canvassers checked and re-checked the $3.5 million resolution vote tally, Mr. Staples moved into other parts of the proposed budget and filed amendments.

“By my calculation, based on the FTM livestream video that began running at about 6:50 p.m., the Monastery vote was confirmed and the agenda moved forward at approximately 10:35 p.m. with over 350 voters in the auditorium at the start of the traditional budget review part of the meeting that usually moves pretty quickly,” Mr. Staples said. “It’s true that some voters left after the Monastery vote, but we still had 210 present and voting for the $500,000 affordable housing amendment later on and at least 136 participated in the COA vote, based on the number of votes cast for the first place candidate.

“I’ve already received suggestions at barringtontownmoderator@gmail.com on ways to pick up the pace of the 2022 FTM, and believe that the decision to complete this year’s FTM business in one night was the correct one, given the number of voters who remained committed to the process throughout, including the COA vote.”

Mr. Alessandro said the committee on appropriations election results leave Barrington single-party rule. All of the town’s elected boards have Democratic majorities: the town council, the school committee, and now the committee on appropriations. 

“There is no check and balance,” Mr. Alessandro said, questioning whether that was good for the community.

The former COA member and current head of the town’s budget forecasting committee said he wishes the new committee on appropriations members, Susie Holloway and Steven DeLuca, good luck with their work on the board. He said he found it odd that neither Ms. Holloway nor Mr. DeLuca attended a single COA meeting this year before deciding to run for the committee. Mr. Alessandro said all COA meetings are open to the public.

Following process

Mr. Alessandro said twice during the budget process, the Barrington Town Council failed to follow procedure.

He said the first time was with the council’s request for $500,000 for an affordable housing fund, which eventually became an amendment voted through by taxpayers. Mr. Alessandro said the $500,000 was a capital budget request, and as such, should have been sent to the planning board for review. Mr. Alessandro said the request was never sent to planning. 

“All capital is supposed to go through planning,” Mr. Alessandro said. 

Barrington Town Council President Michael Carroll offered an explanation to the situation: “The planning board does play a role in the capital process by ordinance; the board makes recommendations to the manager not later than November 1 for the upcoming year. However, nothing in the charter requires them to review or approve the budget before it is finalized or modified, as in the case of the affordable housing fund, the bocce court, and Tom Rimoshytus' motion at the FTM to add $50,000 to the DPW capital budget for the purchase of a new striping machine. The last one was by motion made at the FTM itself.”

Mr. Alessandro said the town council also did not notify the committee on appropriations about the $3.5 million resolution. Mr. Alessandro said the COA held a meeting late in the budget process and council members could have shared the information about the $3.5 million resolution then — the charge of the COA is to review all aspects of the proposed budget, he said.

Mr. Alessandro said the council did not say a word about the money or the ongoing negotiations to purchase the former Carmelite Monastery property. Mr. Alessandro said the council did the bare minimum to notify anyone of the situation: it added one paragraph of text to the FTM meeting agenda listing the proposed resolution. 

“They never told us,” Mr. Alessandro said. 

He later added: “Part of their responsibility as elected officials is to inform the public.”

During the financial town meeting, Mr. Carroll said officials did not share information about their interest in the monastery property for fear that it might compromise their position during the bid process — if another interested party knew what the council was offering, he or she could adjust their bid accordingly. 

As it turned out, some residents at the FTM criticized the council for the lack of notification on the $3.5 million resolution, but when it was put to a vote, the resolution passed 176-175.