Solicitor Interviews
The Town Council held solicitor interviews earlier this month. We had two applicants. Whoever is not selected will remain confidential and whoever is hired will be public. Much like employee hiring. The Town Council is holding a special meeting on January 30th at 6:30, after our ethics training to further discuss these candidates and possibly make a decision. Public positions of the meeting will be available on YouTube.
Electrical Inspector: Part 3
Additionally, during the special meeting on January 30th, Council will discuss the job performance of Jeffrey Valliencort, electrical inspector. This is the third time the council has had to discuss this. Mr. Vaillancourt has elected to have this discussion in open session.
In the prior open session, Mr. Vaillancourt has reportedly been disrespectful and aggressive while on the job, attempted to promote his services and claims he could do a better job than whoever work he’s inspecting. I recognize the positive influence of local businesses, public institutions, and non-profit organizations that serve our community. They need trustworthy officials to work collaboratively with.
Legal Opinions
Recently, I asked my colleagues to discuss adding a rule prohibiting council members individually requesting legal opinions. The purpose is to help unify the council and increase government transparency. Over the past year, I’ve seen legal opinions being asked for behind the scenes and in some cases that may be okay. We are representatives of the town and sometimes it’s important that we double check before we misstep or do something inappropriate or illegal. There are substantial items that could and should be discussed and agreed on by all council members prior to assignment by our legal counsel. For example, the school committee appointment and “the Preserve tax stabilization bill”. Agreement from the body before requesting an opinion is common at our school committee and in other communities. I look forward to having a productive conversation regarding this.
ACLU Report
The ACLU of RI issued a report on Public Comment in all cities/towns and school committees.
Public comment has been a priority for my council. The first thing we did was move the public forum from the end of the meeting to the beginning. This was important to me because as a resident I saw many people who could not or didn’t want to sit through an unknown amount of time to voice their concerns to their council at the end.
This change came with new rules. Including the 3-minute time limit and that members of the public cannot speak on items on the agenda at that time. However, they can comment on agenda items once the council has progressed in the meeting and council is discussing the item. We allow and encourage public comment on agenda items before we vote.
I appreciate this report from the ACLU and I know there’s always room for improvement. Among other things, increasing our time from 3 to 5 mins and consistency may help members of the public feel more comfortable at the podium.
❓️What do you think? Are there ways the Richmond Town Council can improve our current public forum policies? Quick Survey.
