By any measure, televising board meetings live—particularly selectmen’s meetings—has gone a long way to open up what had been a somewhat clubby quality in town government. But an incident at this week’s selectmen’s meeting was disturbing evidence that so-called open meetings can be laced with secrets.
During a substantive discussion about plans for Town Hall, Town Administrator Tim Bragan distributed a three-page memo to the board outlining what he called an “unprecedented” alternative proposal of his own. The selectmen—some of whom were reading it for the first time—then considered the proposal without ever bothering to inform the public about its contents. Meeting attendees and those watching at home were left to scavenge for clues in the exchange of remarks.
At a social gathering, such behavior would be simply boorish. At a public meeting of some of the most experienced officials in town, it’s inexcusable. What on earth were they thinking?
