Hopkinton residents who attended Wednesday’s candidates’ forum with questions about why the town clerk’s office was removed from the Bates building in Contoocook left with few answers and some confusion.
Chuck Gangel, the incumbent town clerk for seven years who is now facing two challengers, told the crowd that the decision to move was made by the select board as a cost-cutting measure. Members of the select board say that is not true.
Selectwoman Sara Persechino was quick to correct Gangel in a comment to the Monitor moments after Wednesday night’s forum ended.
“Chuck’s response was untrue,” Persechino said. “The select board has stated repeatedly that the town clerk/tax collector’s move to town hall was not a cost-saving measure, but the result of an investigation conducted after citizen complaints.”
At town hall Thursday morning, Gangel acknowledged that the town’s legal counsel did advise the move but said he had “no idea” why. Asked why he didn’t share that with the audience Wednesday night when the question came up, Gangle said he was unsure.
“I was really under the gun and wasn’t sure what I should respond,” he said.
The Monitor reported in October that the board’s decision to move the office to town hall was based on the advice of their lawyers, though town officials would not elaborate on why their legal counsel was involved.
Gangel declined to comment Thursday when asked by the Monitor if he would allow the select board to release the investigation to the public.
Select board chairman Jim O’Brien said in October the board had “several conversations with town counsel” before the decision to move the office was made.
O’Brien’s wife, Amy, is one of the two candidates challenging Gangel for the town clerk’s position, which carries a three-year term. Former assistant town clerk Carol Harless is also in the race.
In her opening statement, Amy O’Brien went after Gangle and the suspicion surrounding the clerk’s abrupt move to town hall after two decades in the Bates building.
“The select board is waving a huge red flag about the incumbent, and I encourage you all to listen to that,” she said.
The details surrounding the investigation into the clerk’s office remain unclear while rumors have spread through town and on social media.
Gangel, in his opening statement, tried to put those stories to rest.
“This gossip is groundless and untrue,” he said.
Before voting to move the office to the town hall, the select board entered non-public sessions on Aug. 20, Sept. 4 and Sept. 17 to “discuss an issue which could affect the reputation of someone other than a board member,” according to meeting minutes.
The board officially made the decision to temporarily move the office at its next meeting, Oct. 1, with a unanimous vote. The board did not enter a non-public session at that meeting.
The move was thought to be temporary when the board voted to bring the clerk’s office to the town hall. It later became a permanent change when the board entered the thick of its budget season and said it would save money to keep the office there.
All three candidates said Wednesday that they would have no problems performing the job whether it be in the town hall or the Bates building.
Harless said the office should move back to the Bates building because it provides more space to keep records the clerk is charged with maintaining. Gangel said town hall has provided “adequate space” for the office but would rather leave the decision to voters. Amy O’Brien said both spaces are fine.
A final question from the audience asked why there was not a deputy town clerk position included in the town’s budget. Gangel said the position was left out because he was unable to attend the meeting to present his budget.
A follow-up question asked if he or another candidate would call to amend the budget at town meeting to add $30,000 for the part-time position. Gangel and O’Brien said it is not necessary, while Harless argued it is. The office is currently staffed by two people with Gangel and assistant town clerk/tax collector Ben Bynum, who was hired last fall.
(Nick Stoico can be reached at 369-3321, nstoico@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @NickStoico.)