ROCKPORT — Former Finance Committee member Sandy Jacques said he can't recall receiving a memo from the town in 2005 indicating his most recent term would expire this May 9 — until one was given to him last month when former Selectmen Chairman Joseph Lisi and Town Administrator Michael Racicot asked him to resign.
But while the town's counsel, the Boston-based firm of Kopelman and Paige, stands by a memo indicating that Jacques "was appointed as a member of the Finance Committee for the ensuing term until May 9, 2008" by selectmen, the minutes from that 2005 selectmen's meeting do not indicate any specific ending date for Jacques' term.
The town has argued that Jacques' term ended three years after the day he was appointed. Jacques, citing a bylaw, says he believes his term should not have expired until at the end of this fiscal year — which runs through June 30. Jacques' most recent appointment began May 10, 2005.
Jacques has urged town counsel to consider Chapter 6, Section 5, of the town's bylaws, which states — "Unless otherwise provided by law or vote of the town, all terms of office shall commence on July 1 and terminate on the following June 30, or when a successor is appointed and qualified." Selectmen have not named a successor, and the town's nine-seat Finance Committee has three vacant slots.
An attorney told Jacques the town's termination date would most likely stand, despite the bylaw, because the town was able to produce a memo showing Jacques' appointment was valid only until May 9, 2008. Jacques said he received the memo upon being asked to resign on April 14 of this year.
Kopelman and Paige attorney Darren Klein said that, in his legal opinion, the memo makes it very clear as to how long selectmen intended Jacques to serve.
"I don't know if Mr. Jacques ever saw (the memorandum)," Klein said yesterday, "but (May 9, 2008) is there." Klein outlined his opinion in a letter addressed to Racicot dated May 12, 2008.
"In my opinion, the more specific provisions of Chapter 6, Section 6 (b) of the town bylaws clearly give the Board of Selectmen the right to set forth the term of each appointment covered by Chapter 6, Section 1, which expressly includes members of the Finance Committee," Klein wrote.
"In the instant matter, the Board exercised this right when it appointed Mr. Jacques to a three-year term of office beginning on May 10, 2005, and running 'until May 9, 2008.' As a result, it is my opinion that the term of Mr. Jacques' appointment to the Finance Committee expired on May 9, 2008."
However, according to the official minutes of selectmen's May 10, 2005 meeting, Jacques, Frank Hassler and Charles Bluestein were each unanimously reappointed to three-year terms on the Finance Committee. There was no precise termination date for any of their terms recorded in the minutes.
While the now-former Board of Selectmen declined to interview Jacques for re-appointment to his post last month, saying it would only interview applicants who had received the recommendations of Racicot and Lisi, its members did re-appoint Hassler to a new term.
Jacques also said the copy of the memo he received April 14 was not signed by Town Clerk Fred Frithsen, only by a member of the clerk's office staff.
The 2005 Rockport Annual Report actually throws a third date into the mix — showing that Jacques took the oath of office May 13, 2005.
A copy of the letter from Klein to Racicot was made available to Jacques by new Selectmen Chairwoman Sarah Wilkinson, who wrote to the ousted finance chief on May 13 of this year.
In the letter from Wilkinson, she also asked Jacques to "turn in any Finance Committee materials or items in your possession to the Selectmen's office at your earliest convenience."
Jacques would not comment yesterday on whether he still planned to seek reappointment, but earlier this month, the three-term Finance Committee volunteer indicated he would seek reappointment after a new Board of Selectmen was installed following the May 6 town election. The new board took office last week.
Jonathan L'Ecuyer can be reached at jlecuyer@gloucestertimes.com.
