The following STATEMENT was delivered and read at the
Hamilton Board of Selectman's meeting on July 2, 2012:
Trust, Respect and Confidence of a community are essential elements a town employee or school administrator must possess.
You
will recall that the Hamilton-Wenham School
Committee announced last year that the employment of School
Superintendent Dr. Raleigh Buchanan was being terminated...less than one
year into a three-year contract.
The principal reason?...Loss of Confidence.
LOSS OF CONFIDENCE is a term often used as
grounds for termination of an employee. Loss of confidence arising from
fraud or willful breach of trust by an employee is generally seen as a just
cause for termination.
Ordinary breach should not suffice. It should be willful
and without justifiable excuse and should be supported by substantial evidence,
not merely by the whims or caprice of the employer.
Which brings us to the position of Hamilton Town Counsel,
currently held by Attorney Donna Brewer. Ms. Brewer was so involved with
the Hamilton Police Department conflict and resulting Marchand lawsuit as to be
deemed one of the central figures in that controversy.
As a result, two independent investigatory reports were
commissioned by the town: the Hayes Report and the Pomeroy Report. Both reports
clearly indicated Ms. Brewer's central role in the Police Department affair.
A third report, the Urbelis Report, was commissioned to review
the two previous reports and to specifically evaluate Ms. Brewer's actions.
Thomas Urbelis is a respected Boston attorney who serves as Town Counsel
for Andover and North Andover. The Urbelis investigation uncovered such
wrongful acts that the report was held secret, as attorney-client privilege,
for three years until AFTER the Marchand case was settled.
Upon its release to the public, the Urbelis Report was posted
on The Hamilton-Wenham Patch and residents weighed in with
spirited commenting on the contents of the report and Ms. Brewer's actions.
Why? Because the Urbelis Report, in support of both the Hayes
and Pomeroy reports, determined that Ms. Brewer did in fact willfully and
without justifiable excuse act in an inappropriate and culpable manner.
Citizens are understandably outraged.
As a result of her actions, Attorney Brewer has forfeited the
trust, respect and confidence of the community and appropriately, she should be
terminated as Town Counsel.
Many concerned citizens have already contacted the Board of
Selectmen and Town Manager, but so far no progress has been made regarding Ms.
Brewer's replacement. Town Manager Michael Lombardo has chosen to support
Ms. Brewer's continued employment and has suggested that her
"reasonable" fees and "pro bono" work are a chief
consideration for keeping her on payroll. He has, it seems, chosen to
ignore her poor and questionable performance prior to his becoming Town Manager
and how much that performance has actually cost Hamilton and the taxpayers…in
lost and settled court cases (culminating in the Marchand lawsuit settlement of
$1,285,000.00), poor or improper legal advice, loss of income now that we no
longer have a town-owned ambulance service, and of course, loss of community
reputation for our town.
Ms. Brewer's actions merit condemnation and dismissal, not
support and employment.
We respectfully insist that this issue be formally reviewed and
reconsidered and that the position of Town Counsel be put out to bid for a new
attorney to represent our town.
Hamilton deserves better.
Thank you.
Submitted by the following Hamilton residents, and supported by
considerably more...
Jay
Burnham
Bob
Gray
Shirley
Gray
Leon
Purington
Bruce
Wadleigh
Dale
Wadleigh
Leigh
Keyser
Betty
Dunbar
Margo
Killoram
David
Southwick
Bea
Britton
Jim
Kent
Julianna
Kallas
Ed
Howard
Laura
Howard
George
LaMontagne
Linda
Morey
Dan
Ellison
Robert Sica
Robert Sica
To read The Hamilton-Wenham Patch's article published the following day after this statement was delivered: [Click Here]
July 8th Update: To read another blogger's opinion (The Informed Hamilton Blog) regarding this same issue: [Click Here]
