Dunn doesn't believe selectmen need to probe Board of Ethics

By Scott Benjamin

In response to a recent letter from the husband of one of the selectmen, Brookfield First Selectman Seve Dunn states he holds the municipal Board of Ethics in high esteem and he does not support the Board of Selectmen (BOS) conducting an investigation into that board's performance.

Tony Carr, the husband of Selectman Tara Carr, recently wrote to the selectmen and the Board of Ethics that the Ethics panel has demonstrated "blatant disregard for the rules" in cases involving Mrs. Carr and Selectman Bob Belden.

Tony Carr wrote, "I urge the BoS to call a special meeting immediately of the BoS to consider relieving the BoEthics in its current form at once and to appoint new members that can actually follow CT General Statutes, charter, and bylaw provisions. The current board membership is rife with incompetence, inattention to detail, and a general malaise in their approach to work. "

Dunn, a Democrat, was first selectman form 2015 until late 2021 after he lost to Mrs. Carr, a Republican, in the November 2021 election.

Belden, who has been chairman of the Board of Education and the Board of Finance, is an unaffiliated voter who was Dunn's running mate on the Democratic ticket in 2023.

Tara Carr made a motion for a writ of censure against Belden at the Monday night, March 3, Board of Selectmen's meeting regarding comments he made at the Monday, January 6, meeting regarding an argument that Tony Carr allegedly had with former Board of Education Chairman Matt Grimes. Tara. Carr and Grimes had been opponents in the 2023 Republican primary for first selectmen, which Tara Carr won.

Belden appeared to imply that it would not be best to have Tony Carr be a member along with Grimes on the ad-hoc committee studying the possible expansion of police facilities in town.

At the Monday, February 3, Board of Selectmen's meeting, Belden apologized said he had been contacted by Grimes and told that no such argument occurred. Belden said that Tony Carr was a qualified candidate for the ad-hoc panel and if a position became available he would support appointing him.

Tara Carr's motion for a writ of censure didn't receive a second from Dunn. Thus, there was no vote on that motion.

Tara Carr and Belden are each the subject of separate complaints being considered by the Board of Ethics.

In an e-mail statement to Patch.com, Dunn wrote, "Due to the fact that there are two complaints that have been made public pending against 2 different members of the BOS, I do not think it is appropriate for the BOS to be questioning the work and procedures of the Board of Ethics at this time. I have no idea how the Board of Ethics will rule in either case."

"From my experience with the Board of Ethics, the board has always acted with the highest level of integrity and has done outstanding work," he added. "They are careful, consider all of the facts, and make decisions that are always fully in keeping with the laws of Brookfield."

Dunn concluded, "I do not support nor believe there is any need to investigate the Board of Ethics at this time."