Selectman John Lebeaux, just hired to be the Town Administrator in Princeton, has brought the possibility of a conflict of interest to the forefront. He might actually want to run one town as Town Administrator and remain in Shrewsbury running the town as one of the powerful selectmen at Town Hall.
In an interview recently published in at the Shrewsbury Chronicle, Lebeaux said he didn't have to resign; that he could keep both jobs at once.
Does he have a conflict running two different towns? Don't the towns compete for resources? For business development? For attention from Beacon Hill?
Should he resign? What would you do?
Wednesday, June 24
Does Lebeaux Want To Stay?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Subscribe to ShrewsBuried
19 comments:
Good for him!
There's no way we could possibly find anyone else in this town who could actually dedicate their time to being Selectman. Why should John consider what's best for the town.
John should take care of himself. Right?
How could it not be a conflict of interest? If say some business was looking to come to Shrewsbury and he decides maybe he could offer a sweeter deal if they came to Princeton- which is also his job....he'd be wearing 2 hats that could potentially compete against each other. I don't know how the current board or the town manager could allow it. Isn't he elected to serve the town that voted for him? How can you honestly serve 2 towns and be not have a conflict???
John you need to do the right thing and move on. The replacement for him may be more of the same, but that's not the point...he needs to let go, and hopefully he can see this could back fire on him if he doesn't.
Are you kidding me! This is the most self-center thing I have ever heard. John good luck to you in Princeton, but the town will be fine without you.
It is time to give someone else the chance and us a chance to get some new ideas.
What an EGO. I can't believe he would even consider this. Can anyone imagine Dan Morgado being a selectmen in another town? This is just plain conceit pure and simple. What nerve.
Go to Princeton. Caio!
Don't we have any conflict of interest clauses in the agreement to be a selectmen? Clearly if we don't we should put them in place...this is a perfect example of why we need them.
Wonder what Princeton's feeling are if he doesn't give up his BOS job?
If you go to the Town of Princeton Web Site (Nice web site for a little Town) and check the calender, their BOS meets Monday Nights at 5:00 pm. Certainly John L would have to be at those meetings. Then a quick 45 minute ride to Shrewsbury for our BOS? He'd be late for every meeting.
On thing, I have not seen in this discussion about Mr. Lebeux leaving and taking on a full time municipal job is what is the pension liability to the Town of Shrewsbury. I am not an expert on Massachusetts pension law but what I understand is that under current guidelines if Mr. Lebeux stays on the job in Princeton for 3 years his time (15 years) on the Shrewsbury BOS, (because he was paid a stipend) will be counted as full time years of service in his pension calculation and the Town of Shrewsbury would be responsible for this. There may also be some healthcare liability as well.
Please help me understand this pension situation. Is this why we have such longevity for our selectmen? 3, 4 or more terms and they qualify for a state pension? They only get paid a stipend of around $1700 per year, but that qualifies? What other benefits do these folks get? Health Insurance?
Do our elected School Committee members and our elected Moderator qualify for the same benefits?
Will the proposed pension reform being discussed at the Statehouse take away any of these generous entitlements?
For the record, Mr. Lebeaux has been a decent selectman and seems committed to our town; however, if he is going to be employed by the Town of Princeton, he should step down from the Shrewsbury BOS.
Selectmen in Shrewsbury are paid ($1650?) and receive a travel allowance of a few hundred dollars. They also are eligible to participate in the town's health insurance program. Because they are paid, they can deduct expenses from their income taxes.
Neither School Committee members nor the Moderator receive any compensation. I do not know about the pension situation.
I am struck by how mean spirited the comments on this blog are toward our elected board members. You may not agree with their positions or approach, but these people aren't evil. They are your neighbors and volunteer a tremendous amount of time trying to do their best for Shrewsbury. I, for one, wish John well in his new position. I find it heartening to see someone make a successful job transition in this difficult economy.
I also wish John the best of luck in his new position however, the fact he isn't stepping down is very troubling. He needs to concentrate on one position or the other. What does Princeton think of this? The report in the Chronicle this week smacks of his smug attitude towards his decision. The public needs to make it clear he needs to chose one or the other. He may not have to resign his BOS seat under the law, but it is the right thing to do for both towns. I am very concerned about the motive behind this decision.
On the pension situation, if a part time municipal employee goes on to get a full time job with either the state or with a municipality for either 2 or 3 years, they are able to get credit for full time years of service based on their part time position. Since our BOS receive a stipend in, they are considered part time employees. Shrewsbury is not the only town that does this or faces the possibility of increased financial liability resulting from this quirk in Massachusetts pension law.
Now Gov. Patrick has signed off on a pension reform law that will close the gap allowing municipal employees that receive less then $5K a year to have these years credited towards once their current term expires or by July 1, 2012. This means that for Shrewsbury future pension liability based on the BOS stipend will stop being accrued unless the stipend is increased to over $5K. The way I read this those who already have the years of service as selectman will get to keep it they just can’t add to it after their current terms expire or after July 1, 2012.
Until this reform takes effect a BOS member who has 15years of service and then moves on to another full time municipal job say at $75K a year and stays their for five years will be able to retire with 20 years of service credit. Their pension would be passed on the highest years of compensation. In other words they get paid based on a $75K salary. It is my understanding that in this case Shrewsbury would be responsible for a large part of this pension liability since the biggest part of the years of service are based on 15 years of this person served on the BOS.
This is not a knock on the individuals involved it is however one the legacies we as taxpayers have the privilege to support being residents of the Bluest State in the Union.
If John does decide to stay and do both he would only be able to double dip for one year based on the reform.
http://www.mma.org/labor-and-personnel/3875-gov-patrick-signs-broad-pension-reform-bill
Doesn't it really come down to doing the RIGHT thing for both communities? How is his new town being served if he still has involvement in his old town, and how is the old town being served if he's not totally committed to them?
I wish him well in his new job and really hope he does a great job for them. It would be a sad day if he doesn't resign his current position and move on to his new opportunity and give it his all.
There's a whole Conflict of Interest Law in Massachusetts. There's this toll free number that a politician can call to ask if they have a conflict. They get a personal ruling, that they aren't obligated to share, and then they act according to what the lawyer who answers the phone tells them is appropriate. My guess is that John doesn't have a conflict in staying as a Shrewsbury Selectman. He may have a conflict on items coming before the BoS, but he can recuse himself from the item. It's actually a pretty common problem.
I hope John stays as Shrewsbury Selectman. His decisions over the years have been well thought out and we are a better community as a result.
Also, John is a man's man. He can't be bullied by special interest groups. The conflict of interest talk is load of malarkey by those special interest people that want to see him gone. If anything, the exchange of ideas between Princeton and Shrewsbury will benefit both towns. I am glad John is willing to do double duty.
Why would the Shrewsbury Garden Club, the League of Women Voters, The Little League and SYFS bully Mr. L? Or maybe you are thinking of other special interest groups, like business owners or people who don't want hotels in their backyards. Or maybe you are thinking of every single group in town, because lets face it they are all special interest.
Ummm....Mr. L is not the mayor, so how is it that his decisions affected us, last time I heard there needed to be a vote by others on the board.
I can see pluses and minuses to having Mr. L in both towns, but I have been concerned about the pension issue for awhile, espeically when I read BOS in other towns elminating that plan to save money. It never even comes up here. Just how much does that cost Shrewsbury now and in the future?
"Special Interests" means: groups the Selectmen don't like.
Lebeaux's interest is himself so he can get a hefty pension on the backs of the Shrewsbury tax payers. Please.
Last nights meeting for the first time in months now he came to life and actually had something to add to the meeting. What is up with that? I can't tell you how many mtgs it appeared he was just snoozing in the corner.
I just don't see how you can do a 100% job to both towns. Something will have to give- will it be us or Princeton? That remains to be seen as he flys in last min for our meetings.
Post a Comment
Anonymous comments are allowed, but the publisher retains the right to screen them first.
Comments posted from a registered account are preferred but not required. Registration is free. Accounts are easy to set up and easy to use. Please help ShrewsBuried by participating in this new policy. Any comments, complaints, or compliments should be directed to Publisher@ShrewsBuried.com.
Register for a free commenting account here.