To the Editor:

Having the University’s payment-in-lieu-of-taxes negotiated by the spouse of a University employee is a blatant conflict of interest. That this negotiation was done behind closed doors, with no involvement of other Council members, raises questions about its legality. That the negotiated figure was then presented to Council as a fait accompli, and that the majority of Council members quickly moved to cut off any deliberation or discussion of it and rushed to vote its approval, raises questions about their integrity. That these shenanigans took place at the very first meeting of our new town’s governing body casts a pall over what we might expect from our local government in the future. Shame!

Ken Fields

Secretary/Treasurer, Eleanor Lewis Fund, Linden Lane