HADLEY — A recent contentious joint meeting of the Finance Committee and Select Board, described by two of the participants as an ambush on those opposing this week’s Proposition 2½ tax-cap override vote, is prompting action by the town moderator.
As the elected moderator whose responsibilities include appointing members of the Finance Committee and running Town Meeting, Kirk Whatley told the Select Board Wednesday that he will not be returning member Shardool Parmar, whose tenure expired July 1, to the committee, based on what happened at the Bi-Board meeting on Sept. 24.
“Ultimately, it comes down to respect,” Whatley said. “It is very inappropriate for a public official to address other public officials in the manner exhibited on the 24th.”
During that meeting, Parmar lashed out at his colleagues, saying he was fed up and upset, and later apologized for ranting and yelling.
Whatley said he will be notifying in writing Interim Town Administrator Michael Mason, Select Board Chairman Randy Izer, Finance Committee Chairwoman Amy Fyden and Town Clerk Jessica Spanknebel that Parmar has no appointment to be sitting on the Finance Committee, thus he has no authority to be participating in its deliberations.
Whatley added that healthy debate and disagreement are a cornerstone of government, but what happened at that meeting went beyond that. Whatley said this is not a removal, since three months have elapsed since Parmar’s appointment expired.
“You cannot be removed from a committee if you’re not a member,” Whatley said.
He got advice from the Massachusetts Moderators Association’s legal team and town counsel, and understands this will leave the finance panel short as he actively searches for a replacement.
“I do not take this decision lightly, I believe very strongly that every decision needs to be heard and wrestled with,” Whatley said.
Whatley made his presentation after Fyden told the Select Board she was concerned with the Sept. 24 meeting, which she had posted as a stand-alone Finance Committee meeting, and was surprised to find the Select Board also present, meaning that without her knowledge it became a Bi-Board meeting.
She said the copying and pasting of the agenda for the Select Board to participate appeared to be a violation of processes.
As one who had spoken against the override at a special Town Meeting on Sept. 9, Fyden joined Andy Klepacki and Peter Matuszko in opposition.
“The meeting, frankly, felt like an ambush, and it was,” Fyden said.
“Providing an opportunity to attack certain members, this is a shocking violation of public process,” Fyden said. “Speaking for myself, I felt bullied, personally attacked, I was called a liar, and my personal and professional ethics were attacked without foundation.”
Finance Committee members, she said, should be in the loop. “I hope we can do better,” Fyden said.
Klepacki, too, said the meeting appeared to be an “orchestrated, coordinated plan” and political stunt by town leadership to bully members against the override and to have them change their positions.
He had though the meeting would offer compromise solutions, but devolved into one without any collaborative decorum, he said.
“It felt more like an ambush, clearly an attempt to badger, demean and intimidate members for an opposing viewpoint,” Klepacki said.
Parmar declined to comment for this story.