LtE: Haley’s false accusation of leak

To the Editor:

It’s come to my attention that Select Board Chair Chris Haley read from my letter to the Select Board at the Board’s 3/10 meeting. (A slight variation on this letter was published in The Reading Observer as a Letter to the Editor.)

He claimed that my comment that I did not believe it was wise to give the Acting Town Manager carte blanche to sign contracts for the Town must have been based on someone leaking a confidential memo from Town Counsel to me. He stated that someone on the Board must have leaked the confidential memo to me because there was no other way I could have known this topic was going to be discussed and that this topic was not in the Board packet.

For the record, I will state that I have not received or seen any such confidential document.

I did, however, read the agenda for the March 10 Select Board meeting which includes an item scheduled for 9:45 that states: Discuss and vote to authorize the acting Town Manager to execute certain contracts … including contracts in excess of $500,000.

How Mr. Haley could state that such a discussion was not in the Select Board packet and that no one could have known this would be discussed other than having seen the confidential memo is beyond me.

It’s right there on the agenda. Therefore, I can’t understand how he could possibly have made his statement and accusation. As Select Board Chair, I would assume that he put together the agenda or at least reviewed it before the meeting.

Sincerely,

John Lippitt
Mineral Street

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