Town hire mediation firm
By Chrissie Long
Thursday, December 14, 2006


Selectmen hired a mediation group for the purpose of resolving internal conflict and agreed to spend no more than $3,200.

The decision to work with an outside professional came in the wake of a citizen’s petition filed a few days before Thanksgiving. Residents called the board ineffective and dysfunctional due to poor communication and conflicts between selectmen and professional staff.

Recognizing their may be a problem, selectmen agreed to look outside the board for a solution. Last night, they approved a $3,200 reserve fund transfer to cover costs of the mediation. 

“My feeling is that the amount of money we actually spend would be substantially less than the amount we have asked for,” said Chairman Janet Wheeler, who said they requested a high sum so that they didn’t have to return again to ask for money.

The finance committee was hesitant to grant the selectmen’s request.

“The finance committee reluctantly approved the transfer request,” said selectman and former finance committee member, Jason Robart. “They expressed grave concern that the board has gotten to this point and were concerned that the mediation may not reach the projected outcome. In the end, however, they recognized this was a step in the right direction.”

Selectmen decided between three firms. One was discarded due to lack of information. The other was more heavily debated, but was rejected because selectmen believed mediation would take more time than the four hour slot the mediator allotted to conflict resolution.

They elected to go with the Boston-based Mediation Works Incorporated because the firm was more flexible in their approach to mediation.

“I am a little concerned about the open-endedness of the cost,” Wheeler said. The firm charges $200 an hour for an unsubscribed amount of time. “I would prefer to get the maximum amount of benefit for the least amount of money, but I like all three.”


Chrissie Long can be reached at 978-371-5750 or at clong@cnc.com.
 

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