Milford Board Of Selectmen Did Not Violate Open Meeting Law: AG

MILFORD, MA — The Attorney General's Office ruled that Milford's Board of Selectmen did not violate open meeting laws in two executive sessions that go back to 2017 and 2018. Assistant Attorney General KerryAnne Kilcoyne said there was not enough evidence to prove a violation in the October 2017 and January 2018 meetings.

The complaint was filed last May by Milford Police Sgt. James Heron through his attorney Ernest Horn. Heron claimed the board discussed his reputation and character in the two closed-door meetings without giving him proper notice.

The meetings were between the board and police chief Thomas O'Loughlin and what was said during the meetings is being disputed between the minutes and notes that O'Loughlin took. No video recording of the meeting was taken. "The versions of events provided by both the complainant and the Board are contradictory," Kilcoyne wrote, "and we cannot arrive at a formal finding of the actual discussions that occurred during either executive session meeting."

O'Loughlin's notes claim that Selectman William Buckley asked him about rumors regarding Heron after asking the town administrator and board secretary to leave the October meeting. The rumors he asked about included Heron's behavior and drinking habits.

The selectmen denied O'Loughlin ever took notes in the meeting and, in a March letter to the chief, the board said they had asked O'Loughlin about his own drinking habits. They also claimed that O'Loughlin was the one who brought up Heron.

The ruling said the Kilcoyne was "constrained" to not finding a violation due to the insufficient evidence.