Published: November 02, 2009 10:50 pm      

Goodlett removed as Charlestown City Council president

Roberts, Aaron say Goodlett abused power; ousted president says it’s because he doesn’t always agree with mayor

Mark Goodlett was removed as Charlestown City Council president at the council’s Monday meeting.

The move came after a visit Goodlett made to the city’s Housing Authority, where he questioned Executive Director Henriette Bolly about payments the authority makes to the Charlestown Volunteer Fire Department and whether those could be redirected to the fire district. The payment is a line item in the city’s budget that is a PILOT — or payment in lieu of taxes.

“I thought that should go to the fire protection district. They are the taxing unit for the fire department,” Goodlett said.

But according to Councilman Dan Roberts, Goodlett overstepped his authority.

“We haven’t given anybody the permission to go out and do that,” Roberts said. “It was just something that was brought up. Nobody made a motion on it or anything.”

Goodlett said he met with Bolly to gather information and that he wanted to see a contract he believed was in place between the department and the city.

“I just went up there requesting to see that,” Goodlett said. “She told me she did not have that [contract], and the only reason they make a payment directly to the city is because by their rules they can only make a payment to one entity.”

Bolly was not in attendance at Monday’s meeting, but did send a response in the form of a letter.

It stated: “The question was asked if this agency [the housing authority] could make the fire department’s payment portion of PILOT directly to the fire district.”

According to Roberts, this was an instance of Goodlett abusing his authority, and it was not the first time it has happened.

“Things that you have been doing since you’ve become president have been unbecoming of the president,” Roberts said. “Things have been said — that some employee is going to get their livelihood threatened. The merits of the story I don’t know.

“If someone doesn’t view your political ways, then you threaten their livelihood.”

Goodlett asked how he threatened an employee’s livelihood, and Roberts responded by stating that he was not going to talk about it in a public meeting.

Councilman Jeff Aaron also accused Goodlett of abusing his power.

“That president is nothing but a title ... and my personal opinion, you’re abusing that,” he said.

A motion to remove Goodlett as president was made by Councilman Scott McKechnie. The motion passed 3-2, with Councilman Terry Pierce and Goodlett voting against.

In his place, a motion to put McKechnie in the president’s role was made by Roberts and passed 4-1, with Goodlett voting against. McKechnie will serve as city council president through the end of the year, when a vote on a new president will be taken.

When asked why Pierce voted against removing Goodlett as president, he said, “Because I just don’t like to hurt nobody. We don’t have but one month left in the year ... [it] didn’t matter one way or another.”

For the remainder of the council, it was a culmination of events that led to Goodlett’s removal.

“To say that [Goodlett] was addressing the interests of the council ... this was just the straw that broke the camel’s back,” Roberts said.

But Goodlett believed there may be ulterior motives.

“The mayor [Bob Hall] wanted to get me removed,” he said. “I’m not going to be a lap dog for the mayor.”

Goodlett said there have been several instances where he has disagreed with Hall’s administration; that he was not contacted by Hall about city business when the rest of the council was; and that Hall would hold meetings and not notify him.

But losing the title of president didn’t really matter to Goodlett.

“The title wasn’t really important,” he said. “It’s nothing that I wouldn’t have done whether I was council president or not,” he said, referring to approaching the housing authority.

“I’m not doing anything my constituents haven’t asked me to address.”

In reference to the removal of Goodlett as the council’s president, Hall said, “I have no comment on it. This was the total decision of the council.”



In other business

• The council approved for bonuses of $500 to be paid to the city’s full-time employees. The funding to pay the bonuses will take about $8,000 from the cumulative capital investment fund and $6,400 from the capital trust income fund.

Pierce also made a motion to award $250 bonuses to permanent, part-time employees.

The motion for about $3,000 — which also will come out of the cumulative capital investment fund and capital trust income fund was passed on the first reading only.

The motion likely will be ratified at the next meeting.