Foxboro Needs Better Cooperation, Communication
by Bill Gouveia
Problems in local government are inevitable. They occur in every community. And generally speaking, towns are judged more on how they handle and address those problems than on the problems themselves.
In Foxboro, officials are not instilling confidence amongst their constituents regarding “problems” in the town’s finance department. Just determining if there actually are problems has proven difficult — although the absence of employees and need for various replacements makes it hard to deny.
Finance Director Randy Scollins is currently on a paid leave of absence granted by Town Manager William Keegan. Longtime employee and Revenue Officer Lisa Sinkus retired in November following a two-month leave of absence. Privacy laws rightfully restrict town officials from freely discussing those situations or any other personnel matters with the public. Each office was filled on a very temporary basis by vote of selectmen a few weeks ago.
But the real problem in Foxboro (other than the Patriots ability to win on the road) seems to be a familiar one: The power struggle between a “strong” town manager and a board of selectmen where some members think they should be more involved in the day-to-day operation of the town.
Selectmen were divided on confirming the town manager’s choice of an interim finance director. It was a 3-2 vote, with selectmen James DeVellis and Leah Gibson opposed. DeVellis was upset the board had not had met with both candidates prior to the appointment. That is certainly a fair and reasonable point.
But then DeVellis wondered aloud if the board was filling the job with “someone who is just not qualified to do it.” He expressed his preference for another candidate and seemed to be criticizing the town manager’s approach to the entire situation.
In a deliberately vague manner, DeVellis referred to long-rumored problems in the finance department and claimed he had been denied documents concerning the issue. “The attorney general says I’m able to get those documents…and I’m going to be insistent that I am able to review those reports,” the veteran selectman claimed.
Eventually town manager Keegan said to the board, “You asked me to run the town on a day-to-day basis. I’m trying to give you the best operational recommendation.”
If there are problems in the finance department, the public has a right to know. If the matters require non-public investigation, that should be allowed to happen first. If selectmen aren’t allowed to discuss ongoing matters publicly, they should not discuss them.
But they can’t do what DeVellis did, and “sort of” talk about them. That is wrong, unfair, and unprofessional. It does not help the public or the employees, and contributes nothing towards a solution. It may send a message to and about the town manager, but that is not the way to do that.
Talk about involvement of the attorney general and alleged suppressed documents undermines the integrity of not the finance department, but the entirety of Foxboro’s government. The selectmen and the town manager need to communicate better and more efficiently, and avoid making it appear pettiness and power struggles are dominating Foxboro Town Hall.
In local government, problems are usually solved by better behavior.
Bill Gouveia is a local columnist and longtime local official. He can be emailed at billsinsidelook@aol.com and followed on Twitter at @Billinsidelook.
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