SOUTHWICK – The lack of some meeting minutes was addressed during Monday’s Board of Selectmen meeting.
Board Chairman Arthur Pinell spoke about why the posting of the meeting minutes has been behind.
“In the past, we’ve prioritized our business and didn’t pay attention to the minutes,” he said. “I take responsibility for the fact that we’ve been behind. If we don’t have the resources currently to take care of that, then that’s something we need to address.”
The issue was brought to light recently when resident Paul Cesan filed a Freedom of Information Act request that included minutes dating back to 2010 that were not posted online. The board has since approved those minutes and they were posted.
The Board’s Administrative Assistant Sondra “Cindy” Pendleton said those minutes, while not posted online, were available in draft form at the Town Hall selectmen’s office. Pendleton is in charge of creating and posting minutes and has told the board in the past that she gets bogged down with other duties.
Selectwoman Tracy Cesan said she does not want Pendleton to take the fall for the missing minutes.
“I think too much is placed on Cindy,” she said. “I know she is responsible for the minutes but I also know she’s addressed her superiors and I want some of this taken off her plate.”
Chief Administrative Officer Karl Stinehart agreed that the process needs to change.
“We have to do better,” Stinehart said. “In many of the instances we found we had the minutes on our computer, they just weren’t posted.”
Pinell said the minutes are important and the board needs to be transparent.
“The issue of transparency is paramount,” he said. “We recognize the issues that were brought to our attention and we will adress it.”
