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Residents accused council majority of cronyism, signal app use and conflicts of interest during public comment
Summary
Dozens of residents used public comment to allege behind-the-scenes deals, improper hiring of the interim town manager, possible conflicts of interest, and use of private messaging apps to coordinate actions; speakers urged FOIA and oversight.
The public-comment period was dominated by accusations that council members and allies conducted behind-the-scenes coordination and exhibited cronyism in personnel decisions.
Stan Millon criticized the process used to remove the former town manager and the appointment of the interim manager, saying those actions were designed to eliminate opposition and asking why the town manager job requisition would be removed. “I hear there's 49 applicants,” Millon said, questioning whether a deliberate effort excluded more-qualified candidates. Other speakers including Becky Gardner and Eric Zimmerman alleged campaign-era coordination and called for investigations and more transparency. Beverly Chasen, drawing a parallel to a high-profile Virginia city with governance failures, urged the town attorney to verify potential conflicts of interest in council votes.
Speakers also called out the interim manager’s past use of consultants and said that repeated consultant hires had cost the town hundreds of thousands of dollars without meaningful follow-through. Several commenters urged the council to recuse members where conflicts might exist and recommended FOIA requests to examine private communications. The council listened without taking immediate action on the allegations during this meeting.
