PUBLIC SESSION
MEETING CONVENED
Chair Maria J. Krokidas called the meeting to order at 9:34 a.m. Also in attendance were Vice Chair R. Marc Kantrowitz, Commissioner Josefina Martinez, Commissioner Wilbur P. Edwards, Jr., and Commissioner Eron Hackshaw. Commissioners Edwards and Hackshaw participated remotely.
REMOTE PARTICIPATION
Chair Krokidas announced that the meeting would take place in-person with remote access provided to the public pursuant to the law signed by Governor Baker on July 16, 2022 extending certain COVID-19 measures adopted during the state of emergency. Chair Krokidas noted that all votes at the meeting would be taken by roll call.
APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES
On the motion of Commissioner Martinez, seconded by Vice Chair Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to waive the reading and approve the public session minutes of the October 14, 2022 and October 20, 2022 Commission meetings.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Vice Chair Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR’S REPORT
Executive Director David A. Wilson presented his monthly report.
Personnel
Mr. Wilson reported that Receptionist Ashley Glennan, who joined the Commission staff six months ago, has resigned her position to accept a position at a private law firm. He thanked Ms. Glennan for her work with the Commission and wished her success in her new position. Mr. Wilson said that the position of Receptionist has been posted and he hopes to fill the position as soon as possible.
Mr. Wilson said that the Commission office will be closed to visitors the day after Thanksgiving but will be open to Commission staff who choose to work in the office.
Budget
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission submitted its Fiscal Year 2024 maintenance and expansion budget request to the Executive Office for Administration and Finance on November 7, 2022. He stated that the Commission is requesting $3,550,400, approximately $551,000 more than the amount appropriated to the Commission in Fiscal Year 2023. Mr. Wilson explained that the maintenance and expansion request seeks funding for a new attorney position and for the subscription costs associated with the new learning management system and the new legal case management system. He said that the request also seeks funding for additional training for Commission staff, such as trial advocacy training for the Enforcement Division and management training for himself and other supervisors. Mr. Wilson thanked Government Affairs Officer Robert Milt and Chief Financial Officer Alice Wu for their work on the budget and for providing a Fiscal Year 2024 budget overview at the Audit, Finance and Human Resources Committee meeting on November 15, 2022.
Ongoing Projects
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Senior Public Information and Communications Officer Gerry Tuoti provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s conflict of interest law online training programs. Mr. Tuoti stated that independent contractors were hired to review the Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese translations of the new online training program for proper tone, context, and accuracy. He reported that the reviews of the Spanish and Portuguese translations have been completed, while the review of the Chinese translations is nearly complete. Mr. Tuoti said that, following the completion of the reviews, the vendor, SkillBurst Interactive, will revise the closed caption translations in the new training course consistent with those reviews. He thanked Assistant General Counsel T. Michael McDonald, who is a native Spanish speaker, for his assistance with the review of the Spanish translation. Mr. Tuoti reported that the Public Education and Communications Division has received nearly 400 responses from public agencies and municipalities who registered to use the new learning management system. He said that SkillBurst will produce an on-demand training module for local administrators who will use the platform to automatically track their employees’ compliance with the conflict of interest law education requirements. Mr. Tuoti noted that SkillBurst will also host a live training session for local administrators at a date to be determined. Chair Krokidas asked when the new online training program will be available to the public. Mr. Tuoti said that he expects that the new online training program will be available to the public by the next compliance period.
At Mr. Wilson’s request, Mr. Milt provided an update on the replacement of the Commission’s legacy case management system, Ethos. Mr. Milt reported that a kickoff meeting was held on November 16, 2022 attended by Mr. Milt, Mr. Wilson, Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti, and Information Technology Specialist Tony Webb. He explained that the goal of the initial phase of the project, which will continue through March 2023, is to design a core set of functions that each member of the Legal Case Management System consortium will use when assembling their own versions of the case management system. Mr. Milt stated that the Executive Office of Technology Service and Security recently signed an implementation services agreement with Arbola and a project management contract with consultant, BerryDunn. He said that a Core Project Team will be assembled to discuss current business needs and workflows with the developers of the new case management system.
COGEL Conference
Mr. Wilson said that the annual Council on Governmental Ethics Laws (COGEL) Conference is scheduled for December 4-7, 2022 in Montreal. He reported that the Commission will send to the conference a delegation consisting of Commissioner Hackshaw, Legal Division Staff Counsel Amy Bressler Nee, Assistant General Counsel Ting Chiu, Enforcement Division Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt, Senior Assistant Enforcement Counsel Victoria Giuliano, Special Investigator Shawn McElroy, and Senior Program Coordinator Arthur Xia.
New Legislators Academy
Mr. Wilson reported that the Commission has been invited to the Academy for New Legislators at the University of Massachusetts Amherst on December 15, 2022 to help educate newly elected legislators about the conflict of interest law. He noted that General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery, with assistance from Mr. McDonald, will participate in a panel discussion on ethics and the role of the Commission.
Next Meeting
Mr. Wilson reminded the Commission that the next Commission meeting is scheduled for December 15, 2022 at 9:30 a.m.
Mr. Wilson thanked Commissioners Krokidas and Kantrowitz for their years of distinguished service to the Commission and support of the staff.
COMMISSION STAFF COMPENSATION
Mr. Wilson stated that there are nine Commission staff members whose salaries are determined by the NAGE Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule and nineteen unclassified employees whose salaries are determined by the Executive Director in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer and subject to Commission approval. He said that, since the salaries of the nine Unit 6 employees were increased by 2% on July 3, 2022, he is requesting that the Commission approve similar increases for the Commission employees whose compensation is not set according to the Unit 6 agreement. Mr. Wilson noted that the Commission has in recent years provided cost-of-living increases for all Commission employees, other than the Executive Director, equivalent to those received by the Commission staff paid according to the Unit 6 agreement. He also requested that the Commission approve step equivalent salary increases for the unclassified employees who would receive step increases if they held Unit 6 positions, equal to those step increases, to ensure pay equity between Unit 6 and non-Unit 6 employees.
On the motion of Commissioner Martinez, seconded by Vice Chair Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to authorize the Executive Director, in his discretion and in consultation with the Chief Financial Officer, to provide to Commission staff, other than the Executive Director, who are not compensated according to the NAGE Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement salary schedule and who have been employed with the Commission in their current positions at least since July 1, 2022, with cost-of-living and longevity adjustments to their salaries equivalent to those they would receive in Fiscal Year 2023 were they compensated under the Unit 6 Collective Bargaining Agreement, with the cost-of-living adjustment retroactive to July 1, 2022.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Vice Chair Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
PUBLIC EDUCATION AND COMMUNICATIONS DIVISION MATTERS
Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti presented his memorandum detailing Public Education and Communications Division activities for the month of October 2022.
Mr. Giannotti reported that he conducted four public education seminars in October attended by 197 public employees. He thanked Staff Counsel Candies Pruitt for conducting a remote seminar for the Inspector General’s Public Procurement Official Certification Program. He noted that he is scheduled to conduct an in-person public education seminar for the Massachusetts Boards of Health tonight at 6:30 p.m.
Mr. Giannotti noted that, while the Commission participates in the New Legislators Academy at the University of Massachusetts Amherst, the Moakley Center for Public Management at Suffolk University also hosts a training session for new legislative staff, which the Commission has also participated.
Mr. Giannotti stated that the Public Education and Communications Division has promoted the new conflict of interest law online training course via the Commission’s website and notified all public agencies and municipalities by e-mail about the upcoming launch of the new program and hosting platform. He noted that public agencies and municipalities were asked to notify the Commission via Google Forms of their intent to either use the Commission’s hosting platform or their own platform. Mr. Giannotti reported that, to date, 377 public agencies and municipalities have responded to the Google Forms survey, including 210 municipalities, 61 state agencies, 6 county agencies, 45 regional school districts, 33 independent municipal utilities, and 22 charter schools. He noted that the delivery of the new online training program by the vendor, SkillBurst, was initially scheduled for November 18, 2022 but will be delayed until December.
LEGAL DIVISION MATTERS
General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery reported on the activities of the Legal Division.
Ms. Slattery reported that, with the assistance of Assistant Agency Counsel John C. McDonald with requests for advice by telephone, the backlog of pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old has been reduced to 0.
Legal Division Metrics for October 2022
Ms. Slattery presented the following Legal Division metrics for October 2022.
- Written advice. The Legal Division answered by letter or e-mail 41 written requests for advisory opinions under G.L. c. 268A and c. 268B. Of these requests, 11 pertained to SFIs.
| October 2021 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 41/11 |
| September 2022 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 42/1 |
- Oral advice. The Legal Division attorneys provided advice by telephone in response to 391 requests for advice from state, county, and municipal officials. Of these requests, 13 pertained to SFIs.
| October 2021 (same month prior year) (total/SFI): | 339/5 |
| September 2022 (previous month) (total/SFI): | 400/8 |
- Review of municipal letters. Division staff reviewed 1 letter issued by city solicitors/town counsel pursuant to G.L. c. 268A, § 22 and 930 CMR 1.03.
| October 2021 (same month prior year): | 4 |
| September 2022 (previous month): | 0 |
- Backlog. As of November 10, 2022, the Division has 0 pending requests for written advice that are more than 30 days old. There is a total of 16 pending requests for written advice.
SFI Summary
Legal Division Deputy Chief/SFI Lauren Duca provided an update on the Calendar Year 2022 Statement of Financial Interests (SFI) filing season. Ms. Duca reported that Mr. Milt conducted remote training sessions attended by a total of 126 agency SFI liaisons on the use of the SFI system and provided them with updated training materials. She said that in preparation for the opening of the Calendar Year 2022 filing season, the SFI Team sent a request for Designation Lists to agencies which need to update and submit their lists using the SFI system within 60 days. Ms. Duca stated that the SFI Team hopes to establish a service and maintenance agreement with a vendor for the Calendar Year 2022 filing season. She reminded the Commission that one filer, a former appointed public employee, was referred to the Enforcement Division for non-compliance. Ms. Duca thanked Commissioner Hackshaw for his assistance in recruiting two students from Boston University School of Law as interns to assist the SFI Team with research projects.
Adjudicatory Matters
Ms. Slattery reported that there are no pending adjudicatory matters.
Litigation Matters
Ms. Slattery reported that there are no updates on pending litigation matters.
ENFORCEMENT DIVISION MATTERS
Enforcement Division Chief Monica Brookman presented the Enforcement Intake Metrics.
Ms. Brookman reported that the complaint backlog has continued to drop and said that she expects most of the backlog will be reduced by the end of the year. She thanked the Enforcement Division staff for their work to significantly reduce the complaint backlog.
EXECUTIVE SESSION
At 10:36 a.m., on the motion of Commissioner Martinez, seconded by Vice Chair Kantrowitz, the Commission voted 5-0 to enter executive session to discuss matters subject to the provisions of G.L. c. 30A, § 21, subparagraph (a)(7), and § 18, and G.L. c. 268B, §§ 3 and 4, including investigatory matters, preliminary inquiries, summons authorization requests, and adjudicatory matters.
| Chair Krokidas | Yes |
| Vice Chair Kantrowitz | Yes |
| Commissioner Martinez | Yes |
| Commissioner Edwards | Yes |
| Commissioner Hackshaw | Yes |
Chair Krokidas stated that the Commission would not reconvene in public session following the executive session.
LIST OF DOCUMENTS USED AT THIS MEETING
- Agenda for the Commission Meeting of November 17, 2022
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of October 14, 2022 Public Session
- Minutes of the Commission Meeting of October 20, 2022 Public Session
- Memorandum dated November 10, 2022 from Public Education and Communications Division Chief David Giannotti to the Commission concerning Public Education and Communications Division activities in October 2022
- Memorandum dated November 10, 2022 from General Counsel/Legal Division Chief Eve Slattery to the Commission setting forth Legal Division matters for the meeting
- Enforcement Intake Metrics
Respectfully submitted,
Arthur Xia
Senior Program Coordinator