Thursday, December 13, 2007

Complaint re: Town Admin.'s Departure

I would like to applaud Lou Dipalma, Ed Silveira, and Bob Sylvia in their efforts to the get to the truth about the recent events involving Gerry Kempen. I would like to know how the other 4 Council members in good conscience could have voted for a separation agreement without having all the facts. Of course, someone knows the real story but they are being protected by this confidentiality agreement that has been put in place because “...you can’t be sensitive enough when it comes to personnel,” as Mr. Rodrigues stated in the Providence Journal.

I find it quite interesting that in that same article Mr. Kempen states that he would talk about anything if the Council asked him to. Obviously this confidentiality agreement was not reached for Mr. Kempen’s benefit if he is willing to speak. Perhaps the next time a Council person(s) decide to interfere with a town official’s job they should think about the consequences said interference has on the taxpayers. That is after all why they were elected. Fortunately for this individual(s) they were able to throw the taxpayers' money at their problem and fix it. Once again the taxpayers are in the dark as to what is going on behind the scenes in this town.

What is the purpose of a town charter? This council has been put in place to abide by it at all times not just when it suits them. How can Mr. Rodrigues say that he is not worried about future council interference because “there’s a town charter in place and every council member needs to and has to abide by the charter.” Mr. Rodrigues, clearly every Council member has not abided by this charter since it has been violated twice in this matter alone. The taxpayers have a right to know how much Mr. Kempen was paid for his silence and what the circumstances were that led to his resignation.

Holly Nobert, Middletown

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

It's amazing that once again Middletown Town Council, or rather, elements of it, are interfering in town business where they clearly, by charter, don't belong!
This Rodrigues/Santos crew are incredible. They interfere with town administrator Embry's job, then the library board's job, and now administrator Kempen's job. Absolute power corrupting absolutely!
What else is waiting to see the light of day? I bet plenty!