The New Charlestown Town Council Is Just Wasting Time
The following letter was printed in local newspapers and is shared with us here by the author Bonnie Van Slyke. Bonnie Van Slyke was a member of the Charlestown Town Council for the past 8 years.
The new Charlestown Town Council is seeking to find a replacement for its Town Administrator, Mark Stankiewicz. It is clear that the Council will be hard pressed to find a new administrator who measures up to Mr. Stankiewicz’s solid experience and expertise. What is not clear is why the majority members of the new Charlestown Town Council forced Mr. Stankiewicz’s resignation despite his excellent 10-year record of superior service and a campaign promise that they would work with him.
Mr. Stankiewicz, a true professional, would have served the new Council well, as he has served a number of other Town Councils. In a Letter to Editor of the Westerly Sun (“Stankiewicz’s successes too many to list,” January 27, 2023), Councilor Susan Cooper documented some of Mr. Stankiewicz’s many achievements. Mr. Stankiewicz would have continued to move Charlestown forward, especially because he was revered by town staff, a relationship that brought forth creative and productive work.
Claims seemingly used to justify forcing Mr. Stankiewicz to leave are petty and inaccurate. When he was asked to do things that should not be done, he said no. One example: Mr. Stankiewicz was asked, but refused, to release confidential personnel information. Such disclosure of confidential employee information would have exposed the town to litigation. His decision to keep this confidential personnel information confidential was upheld in a 16-page ruling by the RI Attorney General.
The bogus allegation that the town’s finances have been mismanaged, made by a town resident and others, were proved to be false by the Budget Commission and the town’s outside auditors. Also, when the RI Auditor General was contacted by the resident, the Auditor General did not see fit to pursue the allegation, nor did the RI Attorney General.
Throughout the senseless controversy over the town’s fund balance as reported in the the town’s Comprehensive Financial Statements for fiscal year 2021, the town’s total fund balance remained the same—$10.8 million. Subsequently, $3 million was used as intended and as authorized by the voters; that is, a $1 million payment was made into the police pension system and $2 million was given back to the taxpayers. The town’s finances were being managed very well indeed!
Another bogus allegation was also a figment of someone’s imagination. Employees were paid for work they performed when they performed it; they were not paid to retire a hidden liability that did not exist.
Another assertion that Mr. Stankiewicz would not allow items onto Town Council agendas also makes no sense. The elected members of the Town Council set their agendas; the Town Administrator has no role.
The new Charlestown Town Council majority has made a huge mistake to force Mr. Stankiewicz to leave. As a result, the new Council is now wasting time searching for a new Town Administrator, instead of focusing on pressing town matters. For example, the town budget will need to be approved in March. Charlestown’s taxpayers will likely pay the cost.
Bonnie Van Slyke
February 10, 2023 @ 4:35 pm
Thanks Bonnie, in our 20+ years living here in Charlestown we have always found the town staff to be professional, knowledgeable, and helpful …. and we hope that that will continue.
February 9, 2023 @ 8:20 am
I think it is commendable that Bonnie does not mention names, but many people in Charlestown already know who the unnamed are. Let me point out that Mark was not the only person on the town staff that is in the cross hairs of the Town Council majority. Certain people on the Town Council act like the Fates in Greek lore, just waiting to snip the string of professional life from town employees. But as we all know, an involved electorate is a responsible electorate.