Fiore Seeks Legal Opinion on Board Members’ Term Expiration Dates

Ward 5 Councillor Al Fiore has requested a legal opinion from City Solicitor Paul Capizzi regarding “Mayor Brian Arrigo’s authority to allow multiple members of boards and commissions’ terms to expire and continue to serve without confirmation of the City Council.”

“Dozens and dozens and dozens of members on boards and commissions are serving on expired terms without the ability of the City Council to confirm or deny,” said Fiore. “The information I have been able to obtain, what’s available – some of it was not available, but I call your attention to the Board of Assessors. The entire board is on expired terms, one [assessor] February of 2018, the second, June of 2020, the third, November of 2019 – serving on expired terms.”

Fiore also claimed that six members of the Planning Board are serving on expired terms. He also cited the Zoning Board of Appeals, the Conservation Commission, the Library Board of Trustees, the Commission on Disabilities, Human Rights Commission,  and the Cultural Council as having members serving on expired terms.

“On the Conservation Commission, we had the entire board resign,” said Fiore. “I was glad to see that we had two members reappointed tonight.”

Fiore described the multiple term expirations as “alarming.”

“There is no reason for it that I can think of, other than the ability to remove them if you don’t like a vote they took,” said Fiore. “This is ridiculous. I think we can need an opinion from the legal department as to the Mayor’s authority to do such.”

Councillor-at-Large Dan Rizzo said about the situation of multiple board members serving on expired terms, “How disrespectful is it, your term expires, and you just hear crickets, you just hear nothing. And you just kind of keep showing up to a meeting until maybe that one meeting when they say, ‘oh, by the way, you’re not needed anymore’.

“Either appoint or don’t reappoint – that’s the reason you have terms,” continued Rizzo. “Especially the Board of Assessors. Those are full-time jobs.”

The Council unanimously approved Councillor Fiore’s request for a legal opinion on the matter.