Thanks to some administrative maneuvering, the Select Board Tuesday voted to legitimize dozens of appointees to boards and committees who were not sworn in within the legally required 30-day period.
It unanimously adopted a solution proposed by board member Kevin Canty to retroactively appoint people to boards and committees.
“I’m glad that we took the time to fully vet the issue and assess it and come up with a system solution to a systemic problem,” Canty said. “I do not think that this is a problem of the current administration or the current town clerk’s office.”
Canty said inconsistent, incorrect, and misleading guidance about their obligation to get sworn in was sent to appointees over the years, prior to the arrival of Town Clerk Kelly McElreath. She told the board about the problem on Sept. 30. As of Sept. 30, she said, 94 people had not been sworn in within 30 days of their appointment.
On Tuesday, Canty separated the appointees into three categories.
For the 43 people who took advantage of a 10-day amnesty offered after the board found out about the problem on Sept. 9, those appointments were made effective as of Sept. 8.
Canty proposed the same solution for the three Select Board members appointed to other committees who failed to get sworn in within 30 days of their appointments. They include Dick Quintal, appointed to five committees; Bill Keohan, appointed to two committees, including the Community Preservation Committee; and Deb Iaquinto, who was appointed to one committee.
For the third group of 48 people who had been sworn in before the problem was discovered but had not done so within 30 days of their appointment, Canty proposed making those appointments effective the day before they were sworn in.
The adoption of Canty’s proposal means town boards and committees that did not have a quorum and thus could not conduct business can now operate legally.
Among the committees without a quorum were the Affordable Housing Trust, the Board of Health, the Board of Registrars, the Cemetery Commission, the Climate Action Net Zero Committee, the Cultural Council, the Elderly and Disabled Tax Fund Committee, the Harbor Committee, the Plymouth Growth and Development Corporation, and the Wastewater Groundwater Discharge Citizen Advisory Committee.
At the urging of Town Manager Derek Brindisi, the board also approved by a vote of 5-0 a proposal to submit a so-called governor’s bill – special legislation filed by the board – reaffirming the legitimacy of all Town Meeting actions since 2020. The bill, which just requires the signature of Governor Maura Healey, would solve the problem of elected officials, including some Town Meeting members, not being sworn in within the required 30-day period over the years.
Brindisi has said he hopes Healey will sign the bill by the Oct. 17 Town Meeting.
Fred Thys can be reached at fred@plymouthindependent.org.