KINNAS CATCHES COUNCIL IN OPEN MEETING LAW VIOLATIONS … LAW IS BROKEN YET AGAIN
BY DAN VALENTI
PLANET VALENTI NEWS AND COMMENTARY
(FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE, MONDAY, DEC. 21, 2015) — Terry Kinnas is Don Larsen on Oct. 8, 1956. He’s perfect.
Kinnas is now 8-for-8 — Eight formal complaints of law breaking by city officials, and eight favorable rulings by the AG’s office. THE PLANET thinks its eight, but Kinnas is like the SUPERPATRIOTS. You lose count after so many wins.
You haven’t heard about this from The Boring Broadsheet or any other local media, because (a) they wouldn’t want to show up The Suits‘ upon whom they so dearly depend and (b) they wouldn’t have the enterprise to investigate. Fear not, though, because THE PLANET has found another win for Kinnas over The Suits — in this case, the Pittsfield City Council, which state attorney general Maura Healy found guilty of violating the open meeting law. How did we find it? Oh, it took super secret investigating. We found it on Coakley’s website, a public site that any good news organization would regularly monitor.
Our Right Honorable Good Friends on the council, headed by Madame President (but not for long) Melissa Mazzeo, broke the law on the budget. Ah, but what’s $155 million among friends? Once again, Mazzeo & Co. have been found to be four ounces lighter than cork when it comes to procedural smarts. Call it arrogance. Call it ignorance. Call it a cab and take it the hell away.
The state posted its ruling on Dec. 14, though Kinnas had filed in June and the complaints officially received by the AG on Aug. 25. Kinnas filed two complaints based on the council’s failure to post agendas for budget hearings of June 2 and 4.
Here is the letter sent by the AG’s office to Mazzeo, edited for length:
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Melissa Mazzeo President Pittsfield City Council 70 Allen St.
Pittsfield, MA 01201
RE: Open Meeting Law Complaint
Dear President Mazzeo:
TEL: (617) 727-2200 www.mass.gov/ago
This office received two complaints from Terry Kinnas, both dated August 25, alleging that the Pittsfield City Council (the “Council”) violated the Open Meeting Law, G.L. c. 3OA, §£ 18-25.1 Specifically, the complaints allege that the Council failed to include a listing of anticipated discussion topics in the notices for its June 2 and June 4 meetings. The original complaints were filed with the Council on June 2 and June 9, respectively. The Council responded to the first complaint by letter dated June 9, and to the second complaint by letter dated June 23.
Following our review, we find that the Council violated the Open Meeting Law as alleged. In reaching this determination, we reviewed the complaints filed with the Council, the Council’s responses, and the complaints filed with our office. Additionally, we reviewed the notices for the Council’s June 2 and June 4 meetings. Finally, we spoke with City Clerk Linda Tyer by telephone in September. [THE PLANET’s emphasis added].
DISCUSSION
The Open Meeting Law requires that a public body post notice of every meeting, and include a listing of topics that the chair reasonably anticipates will be discussed at the meeting. G.L. c. 30A, § 20(b). For meetings of a local public body, notice must be filed with the municipal clerk and posted in a manner conspicuously visible to the public at all hours in or on the municipal building in which the clerk’s office is located. G.L. c. 30A, § 20(c). If such notice is not conspicuously visible to the public during hours when the clerk’s office is closed, such notice shall also be made available through an alternative method prescribed or approved by the Attorney General under 940 CMR 29.03(2)(b).
One such alternative authorizes a municipality to “place a computer monitor or electronic or physical bulletin board displaying meeting notices on or in a door, window, or near the entrance of the municipal building in which the clerk’s office is located in such a manner as to be visible to the public from outside the building.” 940 CMR 29.03(2)(b)(d). Another alternative involves adopting the municipal website as the official notice posting location. 940 CMR 29.03(2)(b)(a). If an alternative posting method is adopted, the municipal clerk must file with the Attorney General written notice of adoption of the alternative method. 940 CMR 29.03(l)(c). The City of Pittsfield has not notified the Attorney General of its adoption of any alternative notice posting location.
With respect to the present complaint, there are two relevant components of a properly posted notice. First, the notice must contain all required information, including a listing of anticipated discussion topics. Second, the notice must be posted in a location that is visible to the public at all hours. G.L. c. 30A, § 20(b). None of the notices posted for the two meetings at issue satisfied both requirements. The notices containing the anticipated topics were not posted in a location that was visible to the public at all hours. The notices that were posted to locations visible at all hours did not contain the anticipated discussion topics.
Therefore, we find that the notices for the Council’s two meetings failed to comply with the requirements of the Open Meeting Law. See G.L. c. 30A, §§ 20(b), (c). We note that, after the first complaint was filed, the Council updated its June 4 notice on the website and electronic bulletin board to include the anticipated topics for discussion. However, amending a meeting notice within the 48 hour period to add topics that were reasonably anticipated is not sufficient to remedy the deficiencies in a meeting notice. See OML 2013-23.2 The Council should have cancelled its June 4 meeting and reposted its notice, rather than update it with the anticipated discussion topics.3.
CONCLUSION
We find that the Council violated the Open Meeting Law by failing to include a listing of anticipated discussion topics in the notices for its June 2 and June 4 meetings. We order the Council’s immediate and future compliance with the Open Meeting Law, and caution the Council that similar future violation may be considered evidence of an intentional violation of the law.
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MEMO TO THE LOVELY LINDA: If you meant what you said about changing the tone of city government, and if you meant what you said about restoring We The People‘s confidence in their “representatives,” you will issue a statement on this latest finding and make sure it doesn’t happen on your watch.
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“Beneath Time’s roaring cannon / Many wall fall down.” — Vachel Lindsay, opening line, “When the Mississippi Flowed in Indiana,” (1920).
“OPEN THE WINDOW, AUNT MILLIE.”
LOVE TO ALL.
The views expressed in any comment section are not those of PLANET VALENTI or endorsed in any way by PLANET VALENTI; this website reserves the right to remove any comment which violates its Rules of Conduct, and it is not liable for the consequences of any posted comment as provided in Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act and PLANET VALENTI’s terms of service.
Welcome back Mr. Valenti. It does not surprise me in the least, that Mazzeo cant follow established rules and regulations. Just look to who her boss was and we can clearly see that this moron is just like her boss, Bianchi. Conniving and deceitful come to mind. Lets hope that this is the begining of the end for her, in city politics. I never liked her as she clearly thinks she is better than anyone else. Her arrogance has been displayed on many occasions. She is a product of WHEN who foisted Tyer, Bouvier, Malumphy, Amuso, Tully and Yon upon us. Mazzeo should be sitting in jail for accepting a bribe from the Colonial group when she did indeed accept a ticket that would have cost we taxpayers 500 bucks. Lets hope things change dramatically in 2016. With Tyer being Mayor, I don’t see it happening. I am afraid Pittsfield is in for a tough ride, with the secretary at the helm.
Of those mentioned only Tyer, Bouvier and Malumphy are products of WHEN. The first two sold out at the first opportunity and joined the group that the WHEN organization so adamantly opposed.
the City Clerk isn’t responsible for the postings and the agendas and all the other records?
No. The chair of any committee is responsible for posting the agenda on time.
Grow up and stop with the childish insults. You as a bully and you don’t back your failed arguments. Go away, loser.
Now for the matter of MM taking tat $500.00 freebie.
I hope that the lovely Linda Tyer is not Ruberto 2.0.
The lovely Linda Tyer used Jimmy Ruberto’s Good Old Boys club to win the corner office.
Melissa Mazzeo wrote an op-ed prior to the lovely Linda Tyer’s victory saying the lovely Linda Tyer will overspend taxpayers’ dollars on all of her new programs and initiatives.
Melissa Mazzeo supported Dan Bianchi and openly dislikes Jimmy Ruberto.
I hope that the lovely Linda Tyer will be the first Pittsfield politician to change Pittsfield for the better after a 40 year long downward spiral of bad news!
But I have a feeling, Jimmy Ruberto will be behind the scenes for the next 4 years.
I don’t know about Roberto but there will be somebody behind the scenes
The next Budget will reflect an inability to spend any extra tax revenue on anything. The free cash account will be insignificant and with many projects and debt obligations, Tyer will have been aptly trained as the first bookkeeper to apply her trade as Mayor.
That whole WHEN group has been nothing but bad news for Pittsfield. Not shocked the BB had nothing about the violations. Need to make Pittsfield pols look good at all times. Berkshire Works has a lot of things going on Dan V. that need to be looked at. Please investigate.
Nice to know Melissa can’ the hide behind her stupidity anymore.
She couldn’t stand on her own merit. She had to follow Bianchi like the other sheep. Now she can suffer the consequences for self destruction.
Who exactly is responsible for the Agendas and Postings for the CC and other various meetings? I see them all posted across from the Clerk’s Office. Is the Clerk’s Office responsible for the timeliness of the posting? So if an Agenda is not complete, then amended – who decided to hold the meeting anyway? It would seem to me that this is a shared responsibility between the Chair and the City Clerk, or am I incorrect? Also, I would presume the Mayor has zero input/responsibility for the postings or the Agendas.
Maybe Mr. Kinnas could illuminate?
The entire council agenda, its content, and how and were it is posted is the full responsibility of the Council President. It is not shared !!!!
I have been watching the council meeting for many years and have never seen so many mis-steps in procedure as I have seen over the last two years.
This is what you get when you have a person that knows how to win elections but has no idea how to govern.
After 8 violations the AG’s office only gives a warning. So my question is; what really can they do?
Apparently these city officials are not afraid of the AG’s office. A slap on the wrist and they got what they wanted.
What should have happened is: everything decided at these illegal meetings should now be null and void. A public apology and thoses meetings should be done again: legally.
If they repeatedly violate the law and there are no conseqenses of any significance, then they are truly above the law. Benghazi ring a bell? You can even run illegal private email servers and still run for President.
Madame Mazzeo is prepared to have you forcibly removed from council chambers if you dare speak over the 3 min mark.
So true. Mazzeo is so tough on others, but gives herself anything she wants.
They are all Democrats and think they can get away with anything.
OK but think if we don’t have Mr. Kinnas to take action and Mr. Valenti to cover it in the press. We wouldn’t have know a thing. Thank you guys. And shame on the bb and other media. And shame on the council president.
Not sure, Rule 3 of the City Council Rules states: The Council President or his/her designee, with the assistance of the City Clerk, shall prepare a written agenda for each meeting of the City Council…the Charter states: 2-2 (b) Powers and Duties – The president shall prepare the agenda for city council meetings…no worries in about 2 weeks eveything that happens will be Tyer’s fault – too many promises, not enough answers – gonna be a long 4 years – will the old KFC on East Street where she kicked off the campaign ever be clean ? Durwin ? Guyer ? help please ??
Maybe Lothrop will take that hug back. She Made the three messerschmitts look like fools.
Gee, wonder who will get the Orbit Award this year?
SHELLEY
We shall be announcing before the end of the year.
NEWS ARTICLE:
“Former Community ReStart employee charged with stealing rent money”
By Jim Therrien, The Berkshire Eagle, December 21, 2015
PITTSFIELD – A former employee of a Community ReStart transitional housing program is facing charges he collected rent from three tenants over several months and failed to submit the money for deposit in the organization’s bank account.
Joseph Kirvin, 59, is believed to have stolen about $6,135, according to a police report. Questions also have been raised about $2,000 in donated plants to another Community ReStart program that were not received, but which the donating company said were delivered to Kirvin.
Community ReStart, a nonprofit organization, owns five houses in Pittsfield and operates a transitional housing program for low-income people. Rents are set at below market rates.
Pittsfield Police Officer Jeffrey Arena reported that he first spoke with Paul Deslauriers, then executive director of the group, on Sept. 1, and he was told that while other tenants send their rent money to the organization’s office, three had rent money collected for them by Kirvin.
Deslauriers told the officer that Kirvin, when confronted about the unaccounted for rent money, first said the tenants had not paid the amounts. However, the three tenants provided proof they had paid, according to the officer’s report, and it was determined by Community ReStart that $5,100 was unaccounted for involving rent over five months.
Kirvin was employed for about 18 months, Deslauriers told police.
In a subsequent interview, Deslauriers later amended that total to $6,135, Arena reported.
He also told the officer that Kirvin later admitted taking $3,700 and keeping the money, and that it was being kept at his house. Subsequent attempts to retrieve the money were unsuccessful, Deslauriers said.
Deslauriers said Kirvin also had signed a statement in front of him and two ReStart board members in early September that said he would repay $3,500, but no payments were received.
Kirvin was arraigned in Central Berkshire District Court in October on a charge of larceny over $250 from a single scheme. He was released and is due back in court next on Dec. 24.
ReStart board member James Conway, who now is overseeing the housing component of the ReStart community service programs, said all tenants are now required to directly pay rents to the office.
The ReStart organization, formerly known as Berkshire Co-Act, is amidst a managerial dispute between Deslauriers and his supporters and current board members over the future of its programs.
On Dec. 15, more than 40 people who have worked or volunteered with the nonprofit since its founding in 2008 met with Deslauriers and others and ultimately voted 38-0 to express no confidence in the current board president, the Rev. Ralph Howe.
Deslauriers, who was removed from the post of executive director in October by the board, has called for Howe to resign. Howe said after the meeting that the no confidence vote was not legally binding as the nonprofit is managed by a self-perpetuating board of directors — not as originally was the case by a membership of volunteers who worked with the programs.
Howe also has said he discovered mismanagement of programs after he joined the board about a year ago. He said he is determined to stay on as president until the nonprofit’s tax status and other issues involving Community ReStart are resolved.
Among major issues, Howe said, were the revocation by the Internal Revenue Service of the nonprofit’s 501(c)3 status, in part because several required annual forms had not been filed.
Contact Jim Therrien at 413-496-6247. jtherrien@berkshireeagle.com @BE_therrien on Twitter.
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_29295102/former-community-restart-employee-charged-stealing-rent-money
http://www.berkshireeagle.com/local/ci_29295102/former-community-restart-employee-charged-stealing-rent-money
Kirvin. Hey lets name a park after him. Also Paul D and Conway at Restart need to come under close scrutiny. Is Kirvin the fall guy here?
Thanks Barry-You should know. Petitioners have until 2pm on the Wednesday before the next tuesday ccm-ing -to submit their petitions. Mazeo, connell and their buddy, Bianchi review all petitions and communications from the committees and from the mayor himself . If the gang of 3. don’t like the petitioner, their petition, is thrown in the waste basket , and legally, under rule 27. Mazzeo did this, to over 60, of Mr. G@etani’s detailed petitions, which Mr. G@etani submitted, on behalf of all city taxpayers. Cr@ig asked me, to point, all of you to the last post, on the weekend blog, which I posted. He is working on changing the public session of the CCM-ing and the petition process. He further plans to have anything said by a taxpayer, at the pub. session or thru petition proccess, be coverd fully, by all the local media, print and radio. He has already approached some of the media, and they are assesing his requests. He is correct, that the taxpayer, that takes the initiative, to speakin the pub.session or via petition, should have their voice heard, by the entire city population via local media. In so doing, all members of the city, can have input from other citizens, just like themselves, who actively participate, in the runing of their city. Major changes, must be made as the present procedures, lock the taxpayer out of their right, to participate,actively, in city government. I certainly hope that Mr. G@etani stays engaged and he predominately, wanted me to post this for his friends on the planet, and wish them a Merry Xmas and also to all you G@tani haters a Merry Xmas also.
You are a Muslim. But you deserve our precious fresh first amendment rights, even if you are an ugly incompetent loser that is the product of incompetence. Frankly, everyone is just much smarter than you and the fake water man.
Shakes His Head
You are inappropriate and should be banned.
Iberkshires finally ran an article today about the open meeting law violations. Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg of what this Council is guilty of and what exactly is the punishment if any? Maybe they needed a secret meeting for more gloating about how they took the vote away from Pittsfield residents for a new Taconic High School.
Guess iBerkshires couldnt take anymore of The Planet beating them to the punch….andbeating them up.
Pat- Don’t think that the THS project is a done deal yet. At the last ccm-ing, G@etani spoke of killing the project, and asked the council to ask Ms. Degnan to study the escape clause, in the contract, which would allow the city to pull out of the project, and report back to the full council at the next ccm-ing. Mr. G@etani will be at that meeting and will discuss this in the pub. session. Many on this site do not realize that G@etani is the one main person that every taxpayer needs to have at their side. Many on this site disparage him, not realizing he is on the side of the taxpayer every step of the way. It might surprise many, that He and Dan and Terry speak frequently. He is trying to build the non-gob- sig brigade, to rival the gob-sig-sob’s. This brigade, can and will, play a significant role in all future elections. This brigade needs everyone on this site and 20,000 more, who are not even aware, yet, that this brigade is being built. One person at a time, who tells another person, and so on and so on, is what is required. This means all of you out there.
Hope you are right.
An unattractive person, and frankly unintelligent, doesn’t need to worry about where to send children, because please, who would have you?
T R U M P
For entertainment purposes only.
Nota–Not so fast. Your missing one very significant fact. The country is made up of so many uninformed, ignorant people and believe it, or not, they’re in such high numbers, they could get Trump elected. Trump has played his cards magnificently and has them all, in his back pocket. The average citizen, has such a short attention span, that it is impossible for them to comprehend what is going on. For this reason alone, Trump may be elected. The entertainment factor? Yes, that is what they are looking for. God help us ALL. 80 million watch the Kardashians.—That should tell you something. Merry Xmas to you.
The Kardashians are so disgusting. Don’t know how anyone can care what they do.
You are an ugly, not very good looking person that is frightened of a successful America. Go away and get out of here.
It’s just like Mazzeo, she is a winner. She was able to shut down the messieurs, she had an agenda,unfortunately her leader wasn’t focused, doomed if you will, and was able to speak on issues on occasion. Call it what you will, now she will go back to what she does best, being center stage and get back to constituent services, where she should have never left. Mazzeo will have more power than ever before being a lone wolf.
I don’t know why the city Council can’t have the council president pick a running mate and vote on them both at the same time.
Marsha Coakley hasn’t been the AG since Jan. 2015. I believe this ruling would have come from our current AG Maura Healey’s office.
CTREM
Correct. Thank you. We shall correct.