Statement by Maria Garcia Read at the 7/13/16 Council Meeting

I am here today to present the current situation of the Planning Board. I was appointed by the Mayor to the planning Board in July 17, 2008 as a class 4 member, since that time I have served our city as a volunteer and I have tried to do the best for the community.

For the past 7 years I was voted by a majority to be the chairperson of the planning board and at no time I heard any complaints from the Mayor about my tenure or my abilities as a chairwoman. I can attest to the fact that in more than one occasion I had to stop the Mayor from meddling in the business of the Board as I took my job of been impartial very seriously.

During my tenure on a yearly basis I have devoted hours of my personal time to the business of the Board as well to develop my knowledge by attending the classes offered by the League of municipalities to expand my knowledge of the land used law in order for me to make informed legal decisions when they have come in front of the Board.

Last month I received a letter from the Business Administrator accusing me of not behaving in an appropriated manner as the chair of the planning board the Mayor was concerned with how my behavior was damaging the Image of the city. The curious thing about this letter was that there was no specifics or proof of anything that I did wrong. I contacted the BA and after 3 phone calls to ask him for an explanation, finally he told me that “people had filed complaints about me because of something I posted on my personal Facebook account.” I was in shocked by his response and I reminded him that I am not an employee of the city; I have freedom of speech; I never signed any papers with the city giving up my right of free speech and that nothing I post in Facebook is derogatory. I also stated that I feel insulted and I asked him to send me the proof of what he claimed I have posted via E-mail. He told me he couldn’t and that he will send it to me via certified mail…I specifically asked him to send it to me no later than Tuesday of the following week. The letter was never sent. I also requested OPRA to find out how many complaints people had against me and all documents I have signed to be part of the Board… There was no complaints and there were no documents that I have signed giving my rights of free speech or participating on Facebook.

Two weeks after this incident I received a letter from the Mayor saying that she was not reappointing me and another member to the Planning Board. I respect her decision but, I do not agree with her actions. I am questioning why would she get rid of the most qualified members of the Planning Board at this time? Why for the past 3 years she has been implementing an ordinance that she signed in 2013 extending the appointments of all members of the Boards by 6 months but today she ignores the ordinance she signed?

I contacted different people about this matter and low and behold I also found out that the Mayor and the City Attorney without the permission of the Chair or Vice Chair of the Planning Board used the Planning Board Attorney as counsel. The Planning Board Attorney stated that no class 4 member can serve more than 4 years. I called him and asked him to clarify and he told me that State stature only allows members to serve for 4 years after that time they must be reappointed and if their tenure is more than 4 years without reappointment all the decisions which they voted on can be challenged.

I decided to investigate this law myself and also to consult with other Attorneys. What the State stature says is that the term of a member is 4 years but, it also specifies under clause C -. In any municipality in which the term of the municipal governing body commences on January 1, the governing body may, by ordinance, provide that the term of appointment of any class of member of the planning board appointed pursuant to this section shall commence on January 1. In any municipality in which the term of the municipal governing body commences on July 1, the governing body may, by ordinance, provide that the term of appointment of any class of member appointed pursuant to this section commence on July 1.

Once again I must remind all of you that the Mayor did sign an ordinance to extend all her board appointments for six months and that she has been doing that for the past 3 years. Another thing that I found out was that the Mayor failed to reappoint many members of the Boards for years including myself and Kurt Rebovich. She failed to reappoint us for an entire year in 06/30/2011 she did not take action until 05/31/12 therefore, for an entire year any decisions that we have made can be challenge due to her incompetence and carelessness.

Today the Mayor of this city is showing her lack of good judgment where for political reasons because I chose not to support her for Mayor this year she is retaliating and is not taking into consideration the harm that she is doing to our community by getting rid of 2 of the most qualified members of the Planning Board; due to her actions the Planning Board will be affected and many projects will be in the hands of unqualified new members who she will appoint and who she can control.

In conclusion this Mayor is not representing the people she is representing herself and her agenda. This Mayor has turned just to what we had before a tyrannical vindictive Mayor that will do anything even violate her own laws to get back at those that disagree with her. I want all citizens to think of one thing when they go to vote this November…

Why is it that all the people who supported Mayor Wilda Diaz from the beginning are not supporting her today?

Lastly, I am proud to have served the community as the Chair of the Planning Board for the past 8 years. My interest has been nothing but to do the best for our city, it hasn’t been easy but, I always tried to do the best for the community. I wish all remaining members the best and hopefully they keep in mind they are independent and should only look for the best for our town not the political agendas of the Mayor.

Maria Garcia