In the five years I’ve been conscious of our town’s grimey underbelly, I’ve come to understand that the quickest way to draw negative attention to yourself is to ask “why” about anything the council does or fails to do.
My rude awakening in local government began when, as a member of Barnstable’s “No Place For Hate Committee”, I asked WHY then chair Janice Barton did not respond to the response committee (me), who was waiting to employ approved protocol and aid the victims of the town’s first hate crime of 2007.
Barton’s response came EIGHT DAYS after the hate crime, and the whole of it was to send the victims “her thoughts”. My husband ended up assisting the victims with the simple act of painting over the satanic grafitti on their church’s front door.
My insistence on a response drew direct fire from then council president Janet Joakim, who branded me a “hater” of the town, for raising the issue publicly. This began the next phase of my Baptism by fire into local politics, which was daily brutal attacks on my family by Joakim and her agents, my next door neighbors.
Most of you are aware of the hell that followed for my family at the hands of idiots like Joakim, local police, DSS morons, corrupt magistrate Robert Powers, and of course a host of blood thirsty bloggers and yellow newspaper editors.
In the early stages of the crisis, I scoured the internet for clues as to WHY everyone was so intimidated by the proven facts. I googled Barton and Joakim, and came upon Gary Lopez and his blog.
At that time Lopez still operated with a shred of decency, and several people introduced themselves to me as fellow victims of townie politics. As time went by and animosity towards Joakim grew, folks were contacting me every day about their problems with town government, especially Janet Joakim.
I continued to ask why. My lawyer, shocked at her behavior, wrote Joakim to ask why. Joakim’s fellow councilors didn’t like what she was doing, but because she had the council reigns at that time, they were certainly not going to risk ruffling her hysterical feathers.
Over the years residents have asked why they were forced to buy sewers they didn’t need, why election dates were rigged in plain sight, why the council refused to have an investigation into the sudden resignation of their administrator, why taxes never stopped rising, even when values and school enrollment were declining, why the town didn’t settle the Fitzgerald case, etc., etc., etc.,
Answers don’t often come easily or quickly from this council, and when they do, they’re usually deep fried in bullshit.
For example, when residents collected nearly four thousand signatures to get the Stewart’s Creek issue on the ballot in 2009, the council voted to have the election two weeks away from the general election with hopes that the 20% of voters necessary to pass the question would not make it to the polls. Our elected town clerk advised against the dirty trick, but councilor James Crocker forcefully asserted that residents needed a separate date to “deeply consider” the ballot question. That stunt cost the town taxpayers THIRTY THOUSAND DOLLARS, and the council thought nothing of the expense.
Crocker & co. didn’t object to spending hundreds of thousands of dollars to buyout John Klimm’s contract, and being no one’s fool, Klimm didn’t object to accepting an enormous paycheck on his way out the door.
While residents have been nickel and dimed to death for services less wealthy towns offer taxpayers for free, town councilors have been in the habit of throwing away huge money on petty pissing contests.
Throughout the last election season we heard about how our government is structured with voters at the “top rung” of the power ladder, with the council second, and town manager third. They might as well change the charter to say that voters are at the top rung once every four years, for four weeks, because that’s the reality.
A certain faction of the town council, lead by Janet Joakim, has been trying to eliminate public comment for at least six years, as documented in a series of e-mails exchanged among councilors in November 2006.
An attempt to eliminate half the public comment by labeling meetings as “workshops” failed when two of the item’s sponsors voted against it after vocal opposition by the public.
Tonight’s public comment won’t take place for at least an hour and a half. Check out the agenda and give me your best guess of what time residents will be permitted to speak:
Does anyone remember when public comment was three minutes, before Joakim started clipping it to two minutes? WHY aren’t we insisting on three minutes being the rule, rather than the exception?
Unless I show up in my robe and slippers, I won’t be attending tonight’s meeting, but I am interested in one item in particular:
“The town council may vote to go into executive session to discuss litigation strategy with regard to the pending case of Limoncelli v. Town of Barnstable Zoning Board of Appeals and Town of Barnstable”
This is a classic case of the Barnstable Bullies revictimizing their victims. Limoncelli and her husband, Albert Russo, sued the town over the selective enforcement of their “illegal” rental cottage.
You may read Paul Gauvin’s take on the matter here: http://www.barnstablepatriot.com/home2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=27598&Itemid=112
Town attorney Ruthless Weil personally litigated the matter in Barnstable Superior Court, and, not surprisingly, lost the case.
Weil also represented Linda Edson, a 1099 part-time amnesty investigator in the town’s building department. It is unknown who paid for Weil’s services during Edson’s deposition, as Edson is not an employee of the town.
Edson has strongly objected to Gauvin’s characterization of the judge’s ruling in favor of Limoncelli. If the Patriot doesn’t post the ruling in full tomorrow, I will.
Ruthless reportedly plans to advise the council to support her wish to appeal her loss in the Limoncelli case in executive session tonight. Why? We’ll never be told the real story, but you can bet it has to do with a few certain realities:
First, did you know that there is a cap of one hundred thousand dollars on lawsuits against municipalities? Check out MGLA c. 258
The victims (who are nearly 70 years old) have already spent over $100K fighting the town, so Ruthy probably figures she can drag out an appeal process to cost the victims another $100K over another five years, which might bring them to their knees.
Ruthless is circling the wagons (again), destroying her accusers (again) and lying her face off (she can’t help it – she’s a lawyer for the town!). This is a page right out of the Barnstable Bullies playbook. It’s what they do.
Ruthless inherited her job when her predecessor, Bob Smith died after serving thirty years as the town attorney. Ruth Weil is no Bob Smith, and putting her teeny tiny feet in his big man shoes has proved to be an expensive mistake.
The reason there are so many lawsuits against the town is because Ruthy INVITES them. She needs them to justify her bloated salary and staff. She spends millions on outside lawfirms because when she personally litigates, or, God forbid, appears as a witness (as in the Patrick Page case), she falls face flat on the courtroom floor.
Why the hell should we allow one more dollar to go towards this abuse of these senior citizens? Ask your councilor to tell Ruthy Ruthless to SUCK IT!
I’ll be happy to join you, but only if we all show up in our nite-nites!
Friends at the court say Ruth Weil appeals “everything”. The only reason she’s briefing the council is because Burt Russo is creating a lot of buzz and turning heads of new councilors. She’s very threatened by this case, and I hate to say it, but unless the council forbids her from appealing it, she’s going to drag it out as long as she can – she does it to wear people down. You can’t sue a town on the cheap, and she knows it. Not many people would be willing to fight the way the Russos are fighting.
I triple dog dare you to show up in your PJs, Big Mamma!!!
Taryn….I do applaud you for exposing this crap. But are you really surprised? After all, when Bob Smith was alive, HE screwed all the taxpayers along with that piece of garbage Klimm who ran off into the sunset with his wheelbarrle full of taxpayer money. So NOW it is Ruthie’s turn to screw the taxpayers….however it is only a matter of time when these scumbags will get their due. And this includes this slimeball Weil…… sorry but it is just what she is.
On another note, you mentioned the word ‘cap’ on lawsuits vs towns and cities. As many know by now, the town and its fearless leaders also screwed Patrick Page and his spouse Jane Saunders…. and guess what? Not only did Patrick beat the so called “lawyer” idiot named Joe Kennedey but as far as the grand Town of Barnstable goes, John Klimm way overstepped his boundaries when he violated the civil rights of Patrick Page. If anyone thinks they have seen or heard the last of that one, think again. And on another note, wait till some of the hard hitting newspaper folks get their hands on Patrick Page beating Kennedey in HIS OWN BARNSTABLE COURT defending himself vs the little kennedey punk….if anyone heard this moron this morning on the radio, all he talked about was people needing to know that their gov’t is FAIR and how the gov’t is supposed to be fair and treat people with dignity and respect.
As Bob Smith himself used say, ah, ah ahhhhh. Mr. Kennedey, which part of
the BARNSTABLE TOWN GOV’T NEVER GETING THAT MEMO do you NOT understand???!
Like I said Taryn, your post here hit on only a fraction of the GROSS INJUSTICES that hve gone on in this town since WHEN? Oh, since about the year 2000 when that puke named John Klimm came in…. and what has changed since? Now, not much since we have other scumbags like Chirigotis, Barton, Joakim and others.
Some things never change….but like I said, watch in the future to see how much Barnstable taxpayers will haveto shell out in a very costly Civil Rights lawsuit. it is coming soon to a streecorner near you, all of us….. pretty sad. Maybe we should all then sue that scumbag John Klimm who is the one who orchestrated the entire deal whiel those assenine so called councilors looked on like deer in the headlight—————and there went Klimm, laughing all the way to the bank.
The BCFG is at again they are actively pushing a pro Tom Lynch for town manager agenda.
I understand the BCFG sent out an email attack Town Manager search committee member John Norman.
Joakim is behind all that crap. Thank God smarter people will make sure she doesn’t get her way this time. I was impressed with Felicia Penn’s comments on the search issue. She used to be SO ANNOYING, but seems to have found some grace in maturity.
A case for gross negligence could be made against the council for not exercising due diligence in finding the best person for the town manager’s position.
Some of the folks on the search committee have been impressed with the amount of people asking for a full search, and will likely change their previously stated positions.
Going after Norman is a waste of time, but that’s Joakim’s game. Can’t wait until she’s history. Her legacy will be no more than a string of viscious vendettas against residents, board members, and fellow councilors.
I think it’s a pretty safe bet at this point that a full search will be conducted, regardless of recommendation from the committee.
“Going after Norman is a waste of time, but that’s Joakim’s game. Can’t wait until she’s history. Her legacy will be no more than a string of viscious vendettas against residents, board members, and fellow councilors.”
If she is gone at all, she seems to think she will be around for awhile with her recent comment of wanting a town manager she can work with long term it sounds as if she plans to be around for awhile. Remember she still has her sights set on changing the council term limit in the charter. Should that ultimately fail she might also run for town clerk against Linda Hutchenrider in 2013.
Much will depend on how easily the new councilors swallow lies.
They appear to be cautious, knowing Joakim had unclean hands in Klimm’s departure.
Joakim wouldn’t last two days in the clerk’s office. Tallk to anyone she’s ever worked with in an office setting – she’s destructive, petty, and wildly vindictive. It’s one thing to keep your seat in a tiny neighborhood, quite another to fool voters townwide. I see Joakim and Chirigotis as a dying breed on the council, and that’s a very good thing!
Did you see or here what she did at the council meeting the other night? In response to public comment she began by saying “I guess I have to correct a lot of what was said during public comment tonight…”
She actually had the unmitigated gall to tell people who waited more then two hours to speak that she was going to correct what they had said
2013 cannot come fast enough at this point.
I wasn’t even surprised. She’s told people not to read blogs except hers, not to read handouts written by anyone other than government officials, and not to read the Barnstable Patriot. I’m sure she has a list of books as well….
She had enemies among voters before, but in this last council election, she made some very powerful enemies. I’m sure they’ll act swiftly to block anything she tries to do once she’s put out to pasture.
Not one more tax dollar needs to be spent on that meddling menace to our society.
What really surprised me is the way she seemed to be taking the meeting away from Fred Chirigotis by saying she was going to correct public comment. If there was any inaccurate information said during public comment it was Fred’s call to straighten it out not Janet Joakim’s
Joakim keeps referring to her tenure on the council in an attempt to paint herself as a wise one. She and the goat have similar agendas, and from my view it doesn’t matter which one of them is doing the talking, because it all sounds the same – small minds think alike.
The key word is -agenda-, which in Joakim’s case is always personal. It’s obvious she’s trying to create another spot for herself in town government.
She thought John Klimm was going to help her out, but now that he’s gone, she needs Chirigotis or Lynch to find something.
It looks like Tom Lynch will be able to stay on as asst town mgr, but I don’t see him in the top spot. That leaves the goat or voters townwide to find another spot. Folks townwide aren’t impressed with Joakim, and they’re tired of her endless problems.
I’m not sure what the point was in discussing her own health insurance costs, but it came off as insensitive, at best.
Insensitive or not, maybe it is the reality of what alot of people pay for their private insurance- they pay alot and get dirt for coverage.
But, I found it interesting that 75% of BPS’s staff is at the top tier and will be retiring soon. Which, I guess is good considering jobs are going away by atttrition and the cry that people won’t want to work in Barnstable because of the 50/50 insurance premium split and low pay. Well, I can say that teaching jobs are scarce and I think for every job there will be a TON of applicants. This sounds like what happened in Wisconsin and the unions, the only problem is that a Democratic governor is calling for the taxpayer savings and changes here in Massachusetts.
Joakim doesn’t give a damn about anyone but herself. That’s why she felt it necessary to blab about her own costs, when the issue was SO NOT ABOUT her.
However when Rugo laid out the numbers, it was easy to see how raw the insurance deal is for lower tiered employees. Ten grand in premiums off of a forty or fifty thousand dollar salary is not enough to live on.
This should be interesting to see how this plays out- another example of how expensive it is to live in Barnstable and on the Cape. The union reps for the teachers, police and municipal are pretty vocal about the unfairness of the insurance changes and the 50/50 split. Does anyone recognize the absence of the fire department and that union? Just thinking some serious thought about consolidating the fire departments and bringing them under the towns budgets constrains might free up some money for the other town workers.
Yea. That’s not gonna happen. Of course it makes sense, and would save a ton of money, but nobody wants to face the hostilities that move would bring.
Lopez tried it, and he now drives himself to the hospital when he’s having a heart attack, because he said he’s pretty sure he wouldn’t make it by COMM ambulance.
We can water down our schools by merging them into single town entities, and we can create lots of town events and meeting places, but Barnstable is always going to be a puzzle of villages.
Do you think they’ll ever build a single mammoth town library? Never.
Will we ever reduce our Norman Rockwelly village parades into a single elaborate 4th of July parade? Not on your life! Same goes for fire departments.
They are woven into the fabric of their villages. Look at the little fire department in West Barnstable – they have spaghetti dinners, lobster dinners, Halloween parties, etc., Their budget is small, and their chief makes a modest salary (about $75K) compared to the other departments.
I don’t know a soul in WB who’d want to see that dept. consolodated.
COMM guys did an amazing job getting me to a hospital when I was literally dying (sepsis) about a year ago. As far as I’m concerned, they can have whatever they want. Obviously that’s not the most fiscally sensible view of the matter, but I think more taxpayers would agree with me than not. Otherwise I think we’d be hearing more folks complaining.
It’s similar to the Klimm situation. Even though John took the job way beyond the scope of a CEO or COO, as prescribed in the charter, most folks wanted it that way – they felt they had a personal connection to a charismatic leader. Like it or not, voters really wanted his style of management, and didn’t care about the costs. So goes the fire departments. As long as folks see a value in the extras they get from their village depts, consolodation will remain a bad word!
“Answers don’t often come easily or quickly from this council, and when they do, they’re usually deep fried in bullshit.”
LMAO, Big Mamma T!
There is a lot of support to consolidate the fire districts- especially in West Barnstable and Barnstable but no one wants to tackle that because they are afraid that when an ambulance is needed, it’ll take the slow road. But, really, the fire departments always come and do their thing and they do it really well but some one needs to talk FISCAL responsibility-
Kind of pitiful that teacher’s, many holding master’s degrees, can’t afford to teach here or live here but since anyone with a brain and with children are moving, teachers will be a dying bread. Retirees and homeless drunks falling into the harbor, well, they’ll need all those EMT’s and the fire department.
Yep. 60% of school-aged kids on my street alone are or will soon be attending alternatives to the Barnstable Public Schools. Most are paying $1200 for a bus ride to Orleans just to keep their kids out of the schools here.
Nearly all of my son’s friends from 5th grade won a seat (by lottery) to the Lighthouse Charter School. Hundreds more did not make the cut, and are desperately searching for alternatives.
The new super’s only been on the job for five minutes, and she already wants another million bucks in her budget. Didn’t Patsy consolidate all the schools to save money? Where’d the savings go?
Once Barnstable Public School kids get to be 13, it’s too late -
http://www.theonion.com/video/braindead-teen-only-capable-of-rolling-eyes-and-te,27225/
Hello, tax increase? Or employee layoff and cuts to services in town.
Less students should equal less teachers, staff, and taxes – no?
Parents already shell out for bus fees and cram their 8th graders into the high school. Why aren’t costs going down?
The new super is not dumb, and she is not evasive like Grenier. She looks you right in the eye and gives a reasonable sounding answer to most questions. I asked why the administration costs have soared in the past five years, and she said new Mass. laws have created more laws (beaurocracy), which costs more money to address. Don’t know how true the answer is, but it sounds feasible. I sure hope she can make effective changes here.
This town owns a whole lot of valuable land which could be sold to commercial interests, but Barnstable has been anti-business for a very long time.
I’m sure there are many creative deals to be made, but unfortunately, we don’t tend to hire or elect many folks to the school department who have lots of business experience or are financially creative in raising/saving money.
If you have a kid in public school, you know that literally tons of paper and lots of money could be saved if they’d just figure out how to deliver information electronically. The few low income kids who may not have a home computer have smart phones, and access to free computers at libraries, the youth center, kmart, etc…
Since we already pay for so many “services in town”, I’m not sure where the cuts would come from. A lot of money goes into enterprise funds, like the Airport, which flies over the general fund completely. Chances of taking back control of the airport are as high as consolidating the fire departments – slim.
@ Tommy – sick video, but I did chortle, chuckle AND guffaw – THANKS!
That is a true fact, “we’re poor, don’t have a home computer but I have a smart phone.” How exactly does that happen? Those phones aren’t cheap.
Why can’t that ‘save Barnstable’ eco-friendly council find a way for the schools to send all that info electronically- save a tree, notify a parent- in any language necessary-
What can they sell? A few golf courses and airfields?
How about all that “open space”? The town owns an alarming percentage of land and homes.- just look at the town assessor’s page.
We have a mortgage, taxes, tuition, all kinds of insurance and some cars to pay for, & can’t afford a smart phone. We get whatever is being offered for free at the time of renewal on our cellphone contract.
Save trees – fire all the lawyers and half the school administration. I can’t help wondering how much paper is generated from Ruthless Weil’s office every year…… I’m so tired of low brow personnel.
Although I’ve been quite disillusioned by town government in general, my hopeful nature hasn’t been completely crushed. The removal of Crocker by his equally corrupt counterparts on the council was a start….
Now we have to wait until November to peel the goat out of the presidential chair, and hopefully find reasonable replacements for both Barton and Chirigotis. I try to cut Barton some slack, but I’m tired of her huffing and puffing and eyeballrolling at folks she disagrees with. It’s childish, and after three terms she hasn’t learned to change it. Most folks who watched themselves on television acting like a teenager in front of the whole town would try to comport themselves more respectfully – but not JB. All that rambling about us being an “All America” city at the last meeting left me huffing and puffing and rolling my eyes. Can’t we find somebody smarter, or at least with more self control than Barton and the goat?