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12/24/2022 08:48 AMEvery two years, voters head down to Clinton’s Town Hall to elect the residents who will run Clinton’s various boards and commissions. While municipal elections never generate the buzz or turnout that presidential or midterm elections do, they are still critically important and arguably have a greater impact on the day-to-day life of town residents.
As such, it stands to reason that people elected to serve on local boards and commissions should be expected to attend the meetings of the board, so they can be present for debates, discussions, and votes.
At a Town Council meeting on Nov. 16, council member Tom Hollinger voiced a desire to see an addition made to the Town Charter that would set attendance requirements for members of elected boards and commissions.
Town Council Chairman Chris Aniskovich said during the meeting that he and Hollinger had had a conversation related specifically to attendance at Town Council meetings “because it becomes an issue.”
Hollinger explained to the Harbor News that there was no particular reason behind his proposal other than he noticed sometimes the Council does not have full attendance. Hollinger pointed out that he, too, has missed some meetings and that he was not trying to single out any members.
The Town Charter is currently undergoing a proposed revision, but its current language sets removal precedents for members who were appointed to boards, not elected to them. Per section 9-4 of the charter, “Any member of an appointive Board, Commission or Agency or any person who has been appointed to fill a vacancy in an elective Office, who does not attend at least 66 and two thirds (66 2/3) percent of regularly scheduled meetings of said Board, Commission, or Agency, during such fiscal year...shall be considered removed from such Board, Commission, Agency and his/her place thereon shall be considered vacant.”
Council Attendance
Following his comments, Hollinger was advised to attend the Dec. 7 public hearing of the Charter Revision Commission and bring up his proposal if he felt strongly about it, but Hollinger did not attend the meeting. Hollinger told the Harbor News that, upon further investigation, it was discovered his suggestion would violate a state statute concerning elected officials.
Nonetheless, Hollinger’s comments prompted the Harbor News to look at the attendance records of the Council’s current members. According to the town’s website, there have been 41 separate Council events with minutes available thus far in 2022. Those events include regular Council meetings, public hearings, special meetings, and workshops.
To date, Council member Christine Goupil has missed 15 events (about 37 percent of all Council events). The member with the second-most absences is Chris Passante with six absences. Members Carol Walter and Dennis Donovan have each missed four events, while Hollinger has missed two. Chris Aniskovich has missed one meeting and Council member Carrie Allen has a perfect attendance record for the year.
It should be noted that of Goupil’s absences, only four were from the Town Council’s regular meetings, compared to the 11 absences from Council events such as workshops, public hearings, and special meetings.
Some of the listed events for the Council are quick formalities. For example, the Council had a meeting in May where the only agenda item was to approve a tax assessment with a developer, and the entire meeting lasted only 10 minutes in total. However, most meetings are important to the function of the town, and missing meetings can interfere with the Council operations.
The rate of absences in 2022 has far surpassed the absences from previous years. In 2021, Goupil again led the way, but only had six absences for the year. Meanwhile, Walter and then-Council member Eric Bergman had two absences each. Aniskovich, Donovan, and then-members Tim Guerra and Mark Richards each had one.
Hollinger’s suggestion at the November meeting was not the first time Council attendance in 2022 had been publicly commented on. At a Council meeting on Aug. 17, Walter called out her fellow Council members on their attendance records.
“A large number of people put your name up for representing them on the Council, and there have been a lot of absences on the Council this year, and I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve been on the Council 13 years now. I’ve never seen so many absences,” Walter said at the time.
“I hope we see a real commitment to getting here, participating, and staying informed as to what we are doing to represent the people who put us here, and that’s all I’m going to say,” continued Walter.
Goupil did not respond to requests for comment on her absences this year.