Public commenter accuses town consultant of misrepresentation, urges independent investigation

An online public commenter told the Woodstock Select Board on Aug. 4 that a recently released consultant report contained misrepresentations and amounted to “deliberate fraud,” urging the board to put the consultant on leave and hire an independent investigator.

The commenter said the consultant, Eric Duffy, had “committed breaches of his fiduciary duties, continuing to lie, continuing to misrepresent on things that are indisputable,” and read aloud an excerpt he said came from a court filing that, in his view, contradicted claims in Duffy’s report: “Given that plaintiff, which is Joe Swanson, was an employee of only the village, there appears to remain no plausible possibility of a nexus between mister Duffy’s alleged actions in the course of his duties and plaintiff’s claims related to his employment with the village.” The speaker characterized Duffy’s work as a “shotgun approach” and said evidence exists showing wrongdoing by the consultant.

Chair responded by noting time limits on public comment; the board did not take immediate action on the allegations during the meeting. Earlier in the session the chair said the board plans a special meeting warned for Aug. 14 and intends to go into an executive session to confer with town counsel Jim Carroll, with the Aug. 18 meeting to focus on the information received and next steps. The chair also told the public the packet of materials had been released on July 31 and that board members requested more time to review the material before making decisions.

No formal motion or vote on employment or investigator engagement was made at the Aug. 4 meeting. The Select Board indicated it will address the report and related concerns at the upcoming special meeting and in executive session with legal counsel.