…And Justice For?

Ken O’Brien

Somewhat forgotten in the midst of the appalling antics of town government of late have been the developments in certain pending legal matters relating to the Southbridge landfill site assignment and the composition of the town’s Board of Health.

As regards the landfill site assignment, despite the premature crowing of devotees of the current regime, the decision initially rendered by the Massachusetts Supreme Court has been withdrawn.

So Why Was I Trashed Over Trash?

  Ken O’Brien                                                                 



Well finally.

It's about damned time.

On October 3, 2011 I appeared before the Southbridge town council and made a statement that began:

“It is my opinion that virtually all penalties and fees assessed against Southbridge residents and/or property owners regarding garbage and trash collection or recycling have been done so unlawfully since at least 2007.

As a result, such penalties and fees should be refunded to Southbridge residents and property owners along with appropriate interest from when the charges were paid.”

The full text of the presentation is available on the web-site of United Southbridge.

Through The Looking Glass

Ken O'Brien

With all that is going on in Anne Beinema's situation, I had to ask myself several questions.

First and foremost is, "Why is this case being carried by our local attorney Rob Caprera?"

Don't get me wrong. I know Rob, I like him, and I respect him.

But, with all legitimately due respect, he is not a specialist in municipal law.

Up until a couple of years ago Southbridge was represented by Kopelmann & Paige.

The council subsequently decided to drop that firm (except regarding a few ongoing matters) and hire two attorneys. One would be local and, as a backup when needed, a law firm specializing in municipal law in Massachusetts.

As the local attorney, intended to handle matters of a more everyday and non-specialized nature, Mr. Caprera was chosen.

The Charter Chupacabra

CHUPACABRA

Kenneth M. O’Brien

Wasting no time, the new Town Council leadership took a meat axe to the recommendations of the Charter Review Committee.

While the absence of members of the Charter Review Committee (CRC) was lamented, such posturing was disingenuous in the extreme.

Members of the CRC were never informed of the hearing or invited to attend. The Chairman was on vacation in Maine. Other members found out only through an email from the Chairman of the CRC on Monday or through reading about it in the newspaper.