EagleTribune.com, North Andover, MA
New Hampshire
Atkinson donation accounts controversy reaches boiling point
Published: August 26, 2008
ATKINSON — The battle over police Chief Philip Consentino's handling of the town's elderly affairs program and donation accounts continued before selectmen last night, with the chairman threatening to suspend him for talking out of order.
"I'll find you in violation," Chairman Paul Sullivan told the chief, refusing to let him participate in the board's discussion. "I'll censure you. I'll put you on 30 days (notice)."
It was selectmen's first regular meeting since receiving an Aug. 5 letter from the state attorney general's office. That letter, the result of a three-month inquiry prompted by residents' complaints, asked selectmen to re-examine the program along with its director position and donation accounts.
The three accounts — the Atkinson Police Department's Donation/Equipment Fund, the DARE Fund and the Special Senior Fund — would have to be set up as a nonprofit or handled by the Trustees of the Trust Fund. Although there was little discussion last night about any action the board would take, that didn't stop the meeting from becoming heated.
At one point, Sullivan even asked Consentino to leave the room because he was talking to someone in the audience.
"If you want me to resign from elderly affairs, why don't you come out and say it," Consentino said.
During the meeting, Sullivan read excerpts of the letter from the state's Charitable Trust Unit, including a portion asking the board to re-examine the director of elderly affairs position held by Consentino and to establish a clear separation between that post and the job of police chief.
"I think this is truly a gray area," Sullivan said. "I think we need a separate department."
He recommended having the elderly affairs program operate in a different location than the police station. Sullivan also said the program does good work for the town, but questioned the accuracy of its budget.
The other selectmen weren't as quick to say what changes needed to be made to the program, just that the legal deficiencies need to be addressed.
Selectman Fred Childs said the director's position would be hard to fill if it were taken away from the chief, who performs his elderly affairs duties for free.
"If he doesn't do it, I don't know who will do it for the money," Childs said. Later in the meeting, Consentino asked selectmen to open a public hearing so that he could withdraw $33.63 from the DARE account and $30.14 from the senior account, bringing both balances to zero.
The third account he set up as a nonprofit with the state last week. Sullivan would not open the hearing.
Consentino said he had done his part. "The money's in there," he said. "You can do what you want. As far as I'm concerned, they're closed." The town recently received a second letter, but selectmen said they hadn't gotten a chance to read it and were not prepared to discuss the issue further.
Bill Anderson, who helps run the elderly affairs program, asked to discuss the second letter with them at the end of the meeting. He said it would make the board's decision easier, but was asked to wait.
Selectmen decided to schedule a workshop to discuss the elderly affairs program, but they did not schedule that meeting. They plan to pick a day at their next meeting, which isn't scheduled for another two weeks.
Selectmen spent two hours in nonpublic session prior to the regular meeting. Sullivan said the session was to discuss hiring personnel and that the board was talking to potential town administrators.
Atkinson has been without a town administrator since February and without an interim administrator since mid-July. No decision was made last night on hiring anyone, Sullivan said.
