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Resident urges elected board of finance, criticizes recent theater lease; CRC to investigate
Summary
A public commenter urged the commission to make the Board of Finance an elected body, citing what he described as weak internal controls and a below-market theater lease; commissioners noted the concern for follow-up during their interviews and data review.
During the public comment portion of the Charter Revision Commission meeting, a resident raised substantive concerns about governance and contracting that he said illustrated a need for change.
Roy Abramowitz told the commission, "I just wanna reiterate my feelings about the board of finance and probably the audit committee that they should be elected and not appointed," and described what he called "lack of internal control" and an allegedly insufficient review of a lease and consulting contract involving a local theater operator. He questioned the terms and valuation of the theater lease, citing building size and square-foot pricing as examples of his concerns.
Commissioners thanked Abramowitz for his comments and noted they would consider such issues during the scheduled interviews and data review. Commissioner Paolo and others subsequently presented quantitative data drawn from the charter and peer comparisons; commissioners identified elected vs. appointed rules, residency requirements and the audit committee's special status as topics to probe in upcoming interviews.
The commission did not take direct action in response to the public comment at this meeting but recorded the concerns and directed subcommittees to include relevant questions in interviews with town officials and board chairs.
