surreptitious

surreptitious [sur-uhp-tish-uhs] adjective
obtained, done, made, etc., by stealth; secret or unauthorized; clandestine: a surreptitious glance.

Occasionally one hears talk of revisionist history. In other words, trying to change the truth about what really happened. It happens a lot in politics, even here in Falmouth. For example, last year a member of the Board said the tourism industry in Falmouth was dead. When it came time to approve the minutes, this selectman tried to change their statement. Fortunately, the rest of the Board refused to allow such revisionist history.

It doesn't always work that way, which is the reason for this particular post.

Recently, there's been a suggestion that the Committee Appointment Policy which the Board updated on May 16 was an 11th-hour job, done surreptitiously. Unfortunately for those who want us to believe this version of events, the record is quite different.

What follows are emails, sent on March 6, March 13, May 1 and May 10. As noted in the emails, the first three included attachments - copies of the policies which were to be discussed.

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From: Brent Putnam brent@falmouthlocal.com
Reply-to: brent@falmouthlocal.com
To: Board of Selectmen selectmen@falmouthmass.us
Subject: Draft policies for review
Date: 03/06/2011 10:41:42 PM

All,

I've attached some draft policies for your review. So that we adhere to the Open Meeting Law, please refrain from any discussion via email. We will be devoting some time on an agenda later this month to another policy discussion, so there will be ample time for discussion and debate then.

If any of you have a new or updated policy, please feel free to share it and I'll make sure it's also included in the agenda.

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From: Brent Putnam brent@falmouthlocal.com
Reply-to: brent@falmouthlocal.com
To: Board of Selectmen selectmen@falmouthmass.us
Subject: Policy
Date: 03/13/2011 09:24:51 PM

A reminder that we'll be discussing policy tomorrow evening. See attached, and bring any drafts/ideas/comments you may have.

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From: brent@falmouthlocal.com brent@falmouthlocal.com
To: Board of Selectmen selectmen@falmouthmass.us
Subject: Policies for May 2
Date: 05/01/2011 08:01:26 PM

All,

I've attached the policies & calendar we'll be discussing tomorrow evening. I know there may be revised versions of the policy, or revisions that need to be made, but I'm having trouble finding them right now. The online posting policy comes to mind.

If you have them, or can point me to them, let me know.

If necessary, we can begin discussing these tomorrow and finalize them on May 16.

Also attached is the calendar Diane has put together, and the liaison assignments list. Both will need to be reviewed and updated in preparation for the Board's reorganization on May 23. Again, we can review tomorrow and then finalize on May 16.

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From: brent@falmouthlocal.com brent@falmouthlocal.com
To: Board of Selectmen selectmen@falmouthmass.us
Subject: Policies
Date: 05/10/2011 10:10:46 PM

All,

A reminder that we'll be discussing policies on Monday. Please review the Liaison Policy, Appointment Policy and Online Posting Policy and be ready to vote these up or down.

You should all have copies of these policies; if you need a fresh one, let me know.

If there are changes you'd like to suggest, please send them to me ASAP and I will compile them into a final draft.

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Not only are these emails part of the public record, but because they were all sent to the selectmen@falmouthmass.us address, anyone can go to town hall and get copies of them.

The new policy is included here in this post. The old policy is still online, so you can see the changes. The biggest difference was a spin-off of the liaison part into a separate policy. Several members of the Board expressed concerns about the new Liaison Policy even before the meeting on May 16, so it was tabled.

However, even though the Board had received no less than three copies of the updated Committee Appointment Policy between March 6 and May 1, no one expressed any concerns about it until the meeting on May 16.

The last word here belongs to the official record, the minutes of May 2...

Policy Discussion: On-Line Posting Policy, Liaison Policy, Appointment Policy, Review Committee Handbook Policy and Review Calendar

Brent Putnam asked the Board members to take this home as homework. Look these over, including the Speakers Policy, and bring them back in two weeks, and we will vote them up or down, he said. Bring additions or subtractions. It was noted that there was no liaison for Coastal Ponds and no liaison between the Board and constables. The new Board will address this.

...and the minutes of May 16...

Policy Discussion: On-Line Posting Policy, Liaison Policy, Appointment Policy, Review Calendar and Liaison Assignments List.

Speaking on the calendar and liaison list, Brent Putnam said it is not set in stone; it just gives the Board an idea of the time issues. Additions or deletions should be given to Diane Davidson. Brent Putnam moved to accept the On-Line Posting Policy. Ahmed Mustafa seconded. 5-Yes, 0-No. Melissa Freitag thinks the Liaison Policy and the Committee Appointment Policy need lots of work. Mary Pat Flynn thinks the Liaison Policy should include what liaisons are not supposed to do as well. There was a brief discussion on what the Committee Appointment Policy accomplishes. Heather Harper said this policy will help the staff. Brent Putnam moved to approve the Committee Appointment Policy. Ahmed Mustafa seconded. 5-Yes, 0-No

Nothing surreptitious here.