Town Meeting hands article back to board

SAUGUS – Town Meeting members voted to send the warrant article that would prohibit town officials from potential conflicts of interest with their constituents back to the new Board of Selectmen for further review.Many who stepped up to the podium at Monday?s Special Town Meeting to ask for referral to the board or even indefinite postponement said Article 4, which would have changed the town bylaws to prohibit town officials from soliciting businesses in exchange for political favors, was redundant because there are state laws that were already in effect for the same reason.With town counsel?s confirmation that violation of the bylaw was a criminal offense, meeting member and former town moderator Robert Long said the article could be abused, with anyone liable to be blamed.Precinct 4 member Robert Cox agreed. “If you have grudge with someone, it?s a lot easier to file a complaint in court then to go through the lengthy process of the state,” he said.With two out of three members who voted to put the article on the warrant voted off the board, Chairman Ellen Faiella said it made sense for a new board to review it. Selectman Maureen Dever agreed, calling the article “mean-spirited” and “destructive to the entire community,” insisting that it could ultimately affect any volunteer or community event, as well as donations to local nonprofits.Town Meeting member Peter Manoogian proposed an amendment to the article that would prohibit not only the solicitation of businesses but the acceptance of gifts of $50 over a period of a year, but the amendment was voted down in a roll call vote.