Chair suspends public comment after personal data of residents was circulated, says letter was widely distributed

Chair Maureen Carney told attendees at the March 17 Northampton Housing Authority meeting that the authority had received an anonymous letter containing personal and confidential information for a number of residents, and that some of that information had been widely distributed beyond the city's limits.

Carney said she suspended public comment at the prior meeting to "quell the damage being done to residents in terms of the violation of their personal information being disseminated." She apologized to attendees who believed their First Amendment rights were affected and clarified the chair's discretion over public participation: "An individual cannot disrupt our meeting and at the request of the chair, all members of the public shall remain silent. If after a clear warning, a person continues to be disruptive, then the chair may order the person to leave the meeting," Carney said, noting that the Zoom format changes how enforcement might occur.

Carney said she had sent a letter to the resident who raised concerns about the suspension; she also sent copies to local tenant organizations and posted the clarification at properties. She described the decision to suspend public comment at the earlier meeting as a unilateral action she took to protect residents' privacy, and disputed a public comment that had characterized the suspension as an open-meeting-law violation. "That decision was entirely a decision made by me, the chair," she said.

Why it matters: the suspension was taken to limit further dissemination of residents' confidential information; it also shaped how the authority handled public participation during the state annual-plan public hearing later in the meeting. Carney invited attendees to submit written comments on the state plan and said management would accept written comments for inclusion in the materials the executive director uploads to the state.

Procedural context and next steps: Carney and Director Kara Leeper both confirmed the authority will accept written public comments on the annual plan and that the director could include comments submitted before she uploads the materials to the state. Carney asked LTOs to circulate the invitation for written comments among residents. The authority proceeded with a scheduled public hearing on the state annual plan later in the meeting.

Ending: Carney closed the explanation by thanking attendees for their participation and asking residents to reserve public remarks on the annual plan for the designated hearing and written submission opportunities.