Resident tells selectmen town is ignoring Right-to-Know requests and questions spending priorities

During the public-comment period at the Jan. 5 Board of Selectmen meeting, resident Brian Lere of 174 Main Street criticized the town’s handling of Right-to-Know (RTK) requests and raised concerns about municipal spending priorities.

Lere said he had submitted more than 20 RTK requests and had received responses to only three, adding that several of his specific requests were standard monthly reports and had also been requested by the budget committee but not provided. “It’s peculiar to me that I’m the only one on the list that has not received responses,” he said, and later asserted, “Basically the town's in violation of state law.” The transcript records several similar complaints that the resident described as routine information withholding.

Lere also criticized the town’s use of the Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) to pay for large equipment now — saying that financing equipment many years in the future burdens current taxpayers — and questioned purchasing and fleet choices for the police department, calling some cruisers “luxury vehicles” and arguing the town should be more transparent about procurement and RFP processes.

The board acknowledged the comment and then moved on to agenda business; the transcript does not include a detailed response from board members or staff addressing the specific RTK allegations during the meeting.

The board’s formal records and staff responses would be the appropriate sources for verifying claims about RTK compliance and the status of outstanding requests.