Council Adds Removing President, Solicitor to Oct. 14 Agenda

COVENTRY, RI — The Town Council added votes on removing President Hilary Lima and Solicitor Stephen Angell to its Oct. 14 agenda during their Tuesday night meeting.

The Council also added a vote on hiring a forensic audit of the solicitor’s invoices to that meeting.

“Tonight, it represents the first step in changing the way our Council’s run, changing the way we interact with the community, and the way that we interact with our residents on these topics,” said Vice President JP Verducci, “The town needs a healing. It needs to come together a little bit better on many different things. And tonight we’re going to make some of those moves towards that.”

Councilwoman Alisa Capaldi made a motion to suspend Council rules to add public comment on undocketed items to the meeting’s agenda, which Councilman Frank Brown seconded. The vote to suspend the rules passed unanimously, 6-0. Council President Hilary Lima did not attend. Capaldi’s next motion adding public comment for undocketed items back into the agenda was also seconded by Brown.

“I think it’s sad how we got here, that that’s where we are, and it’s sad what it took me over the last 72 hours to make this happen. This should’ve never happened and I’m going to tell you exactly why this happened,” said Councilman Richard Houle.

“I revealed to the Council President that if she removed my items from the agenda that I would recuse myself from my council seat during non-docketed public comment, and I was going to stand at that podium and I was going to say that same speech that I’m saying now,” Houle said.

“There is never an appropriate time to silence the public, whether we agree with them or we don’t. And at the end of the day all this comes down to is people wouldn’t be mad if we just told the damned truth. At some point we just have to tell the truth. And removing public comment to get after a Council Person did nothing but upset the community. It shows her failed leadership.”

“To go along with Councilman Houle, it didn’t just upset the people in the town, it upset us,” said Councilman Frank Brown, “I mean, we’re not happy with it either, so I would like to add that myself and most of my council members are upset that it was removed also.

“I was never so upset when I saw that. Our president was going against the charter and the Town Council rules on this thing,” said Capaldi. “And I am astounded that she can just blatantly do stuff like that. And she did. And that’s why she’s not here today. To eliminate public comment is not only inconsistent with our charter and the rules. It runs against the very principle of the First Amendment rights. I mean, you guys are why we’re up here. We have a job, to help our citizens, and how dare she squash that. That is so unconstitutional I can’t even express my feelings.

“There was just no need to do that,” Verducci agreed.

The vote to add the public comment back into the agenda also passed 6-0.

Vote adding item to terminate Angell’s contract to Oct. 14 agenda

Next, Houle made a motion to terminate the Town Solicitor’s contract during the next Council meeting. Capaldi seconded it.

Houle explained the solicitor invoices disagreement that resulted in Dist. 3 Councilman James LeBlanc and Dist. 5 Councilman Scott Copley resigning their seats on the Council, with that triggering a Special Election to replace them, during which Robert DeLellis, won the Dist. 5 race and Houle won the Dist. 3 seat Aug. 5. Before that, on April 22, the abbreviated Council voted to expand access to solicitor invoices from just the Council President to the entire council.

Shortly thereafter, Houle said, the Solicitor’s letter of engagement as amended to restrict how council members could view the invoices, requiring them to drive into Providence and view the documents under supervision, without use of cell phones or note taking.

“If there’s nothing happening, why are we here for a third time? Third time,” Houle said, “Guess what? If Jamie had his way I wouldn’t be sitting up here and the Council President would probably still be here this evening,” he continued, “If you have nothing to hide, show the invoices.” Houle added that he would not stop, “Until the contract between Stephen Angell law firm and the Town of Coventry is terminated.”

Houle also said that since the amendment to Angell’s letter of engagement passed 4-0, that meant the Council members either weren’t reading or understanding it.

The merits of restricting access to the full solicitor invoices was reported at the time by WarwickPost.com in the April 18 story, “Pascua: Give Entire Coventry Solicitor Invoices To Full Council April 22” An excerpt from that story addresses the legality and wisdom of restricting access to unredacted solicitor invoices:

Councilman Jeremy Rix, a lawyer and someone with experience in dealing with such documents, said he expects that information that could compromise town legal negotiations, likely already protected from public disclosure under APRA exemptions, are not any more vulnerable to a public records request if more than one public official has access to it.

“If it’s not a public record, it’s not a public record,” Rix said.

Rix also said not revealing details aside from line item costs of the solicitor’s work on active cases is a smart, and legitimate case of keeping opposing lawyers from learning enough about a municipality’s strategy to compromise the town or city’s case.

“You don’t go and reveal who your witnesses are to the other side,” Rix said, until you’re ready for them to testify in court. But, he said, information like that can be revealed after the case has happened.

So, although the number of public officials with access to the redacted invoices doesn’t make the information more accessible to the public legally, limiting the people who can share that information, accidentally or otherwise, is sometimes wise. During the March 25 meeting on the topic, Council President Hilary Lima remarked she didn’t trust (now former) Dist. 3 Councilman James LeBlanc and Dist. 5 Councilman Scott Copley to not share the information.

“I think that the majority (of the Coventry Town Council) actually have a pretty good point there,” Rix said.

The motion to put Angell’s removal on the agenda for the next meeting was approved 6-0.

Vote adding item removing President Lima to Oct. 14 agenda

Houle made a motion to add a vote for the removal of Lima to the next Town Council agenda. Capaldi seconded it, and the vote was also 6-0.

“We got here because I was lied to. I requested to fix the solicitor’s invoices, and that was my requirement. It wasn’t his removal, it wasn’t her removal. It was to fix the invoices. And with her continued blockade, there was nothing else to do besides remove her from her position. She has shown on numerous occasions her lack of understanding, her lack of debate, her lack of being transparent, her lack of accountability. Just look, she’s not here tonight. We’re all here taking the heat from the public. This is her doing. She should be behind here and have to face this just like everyone else.

Houle asked if Lima had provided a note to the Town Clerk informing her she wouldn’t attend.

“She did not,” Town Clerk Joanne Amitrano said.

“So she enforces rules when they work for her but she doesn’t when they don’t” Houle said.

Capaldi said Lima and Angell held much town business to their chest, preventing other members of the council from knowing what was going on.

The motion to put removal of Lima on the next agenda also passed 6-0.

Vote adding item for forensic audit to Oct. 14 agenda

Houle also made a motion to add a vote for a forensic audit of the unredacted invoices, which also passed 6-0.