Somers Selectman Upset Over Governmental Change In His Absence

SOMERS, CT — Two members of the Somers Board of Selectmen voted to change the structure of town government at a meeting last week where one member of the board was absent, and that selectman is angry about what he called a lack of transparency by "the good old boys network."

At Thursday's meeting, under an agenda item dubbed "Opportunity to Add Agenda Items," Selectman Tim Potrikus introduced four motions:

1. Eliminating the position of chief financial officer and replacing it with a chief operating officer, effective July 1, 2021;
2. Appointing chief financial officer Michael Marinaccio as chief operating officer;
3. Reducing the salary of the first selectman to an annual stipend of $24,000
4. Adopting an ordinance prohibiting salary increases and bonuses for selectmen during the 2-year period for which they are elected.

All four motions passed unanimously, with Potrikus and First Selectman Bud Knorr in favor.

Selectman Tim Kenney was not present, missing his first meeting since his election due to a commitment to an event at Hillsdale College. He told Patch he was surprised and outraged that his fellow selectmen would vote on such changes without a public hearing, stating, "I think it's outrageous they wouldn't allow public comment on a fundamental change to local government, hiring a COO at $140,000 a year, a person who is not accountable to the voters."

Keeney said an attempt at changing town government failed at referendum in the past, prompting local leaders to slip the motions by in his absence. He chastised several officials for their lack of transparency.

"Tim Potrikus, Bud Knorr, Ralph Williams, Andy Rockett - they all claim Somers has a transparent government," he said. "This is a prime example of how it is not."

In an email to Patch, Board of Finance member Bill Meier expressed equal disdain for the process.

"The Board of Selectman vote Thursday was done with no public notice, no opportunity for public comment and was completed in 10 minutes," Meier wrote. "There was only minimal public discussion among the selectmen present before voting. To fundamentally change our town government in this manner is not in the best interest of Somers. While there may be some concerns with the existing system, addressing them this way is improper and has rightly caused outrage among the residents of Somers. I would support the creation of a Charter Revision panel to hear ideas and concerns from all sides and then present to our voters modifications in the structure of our government. Only by following a transparent, thoughtful and comprehensive process can we make meaningful change in government. I would call for this action to be immediately overturned by the Board of Selectmen and use this opportunity as a community to begin these public deliberations following the process outlined in our charter."

The video of the May 20 meeting may be viewed below; the portion detailed in this story begins around the 31:00 mark.

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