Selectmen reverse stance on roll-call votes

GOFFSTOWN --- 01/11/07:  Public records of Goffstown selectmen’s meetings will now include information on how all board members vote, after Selectman Bruce Hunter asked the board to reconsider an earlier decision at their meeting of Monday, Jan. 8.

Monday’s 5-0 vote reverses a month-old decision that sparked statewide attention.

At the board’s meeting of Dec. 4, Selectman Nick Campasano brought forth a resident’s request that public records reflect who voted "no" or abstained on any decision. At the time, all votes were recorded as a numeric tally.

Campasano’s motion came in response to an inquiry from resident Guy Caron, chairman of the Goffstown Residents Association.

The proposal failed at the Dec. 4 meeting by a margin of 2-3, with Campasano and John Caprio voting in favor, and Hunter, Phil D’Avanza and Chairman Barbara Griffin voting against.

Hunter said he received phone calls from residents following the December vote, and researched whether state statute requires boards to attach names to vote tallies.

"I did not find any NH statutes that require the board of selectmen to take all votes by roll call vote," wrote Anne Bickford, a senior researcher at the office of legislative services in Concord, in an e-mail to Hunter dated Dec. 28.

A roll call vote is only required before a board can go into nonpublic session according to RSA 91-A:3, Bickford wrote.

In casting her vote against Campasano’s proposal in December, Griffin had said she thought all votes reflected the final opinion of the board.

At Monday night’s meeting, she recalled receiving applause once for refusing to explain why she had voted "no" on an issue the board ultimately supported. The public had appreciated her show of unity with the board, Griffin said.

When evaluating Hunter’s motion to reconsider on Monday night, Griffin referenced the Goffstown Residents Association by saying, "This came forward from a group that doesn’t have a membership list or records of votes or editorial staff."

Griffin proposed an amendment to Hunter’s motion requiring that records reflect why abstaining members had chosen not to vote on a specific issue.

Hunter’s motion to reconsider passed with Griffin’s amendment 5-0. Public reaction following the vote has been favorable, though mixed.

"I fully support their reconsideration, but I wonder why they didn’t vote that way the first time," said Bill Gordon, a 12-year Goffstown resident who said he plans to run for selectman this year.

The selectmen’s decision follows the submission of a petitioned warrant article by Caron requiring all town boards to include roll call information in their vote tallies.

That article, submitted Friday, Jan. 5, reads in part, "Shall the Town vote to direct that records (including official minutes) ... include descriptive information reflecting the affirmative or negative vote cast and noted by each individual member of such public body on all matters for which a vote is taken."

The petitioned article will prevent selectmen from reversing their decision at any time in the future, according to the Goffstown Residents Association Web site.

"The result of last night’s vote can be reversed at a later date as easily as it was passed last night," according to a posting at www.GoffstownResidentsAssociation.com. "As such, we urge all Goffstown voters to support this article on March 13th, and help promote accountability and openness in Goffstown’s government."