From the Eagle Tribune;
Atkinson donation accounts controversy reaches boiling point
By Meghan Carey
mcarey@eagletribune.com
ATKINSON — The battle over police Chief Philip Consentino's handling of the town's elderly affairs program and donation accounts continued before selectmen last night, with the chairman threatening to suspend him for talking out of order.
"I'll find you in violation," Chairman Paul Sullivan told the chief, refusing to let him participate in the board's discussion. "I'll censure you. I'll put you on 30 days (notice)."
It was selectmen's first regular meeting since receiving an Aug. 5 letter from the state attorney general's office. That letter, the result of a three-month inquiry prompted by residents' complaints, asked selectmen to re-examine the program along with its director position and donation accounts.
The three accounts — the Atkinson Police Department's Donation/Equipment Fund, the DARE Fund and the Special Senior Fund — would have to be set up as a nonprofit or handled by the Trustees of the Trust Fund. Although there was little discussion last night about any action the board would take, that didn't stop the meeting from becoming heated.
At one point, Sullivan even asked Consentino to leave the room because he was talking to someone in the audience.
"If you want me to resign from elderly affairs, why don't you come out and say it," Consentino said.
During the meeting, Sullivan read excerpts of the letter from the state's Charitable Trust Unit, including a portion asking the board to re-examine the director of elderly affairs position held by Consentino and to establish a clear separation between that post and the job of police chief.
"I think this is truly a gray area," Sullivan said. "I think we need a separate department."
He recommended having the elderly affairs program operate in a different location than the police station. Sullivan also said the program does good work for the town, but questioned the accuracy of its budget.
The other selectmen weren't as quick to say what changes needed to be made to the program, just that the legal deficiencies need to be addressed.
Selectman Fred Childs said the director's position would be hard to fill if it were taken away from the chief, who performs his elderly affairs duties for free.
"If he doesn't do it, I don't know who will do it for the money," Childs said. Later in the meeting, Consentino asked selectmen to open a public hearing so that he could withdraw $33.63 from the DARE account and $30.14 from the senior account, bringing both balances to zero.
The third account he set up as a nonprofit with the state last week. Sullivan would not open the hearing.
Consentino said he had done his part. "The money's in there," he said. "You can do what you want. As far as I'm concerned, they're closed." The town recently received a second letter, but selectmen said they hadn't gotten a chance to read it and were not prepared to discuss the issue further.
Bill Anderson, who helps run the elderly affairs program, asked to discuss the second letter with them at the end of the meeting. He said it would make the board's decision easier, but was asked to wait.
Selectmen decided to schedule a workshop to discuss the elderly affairs program, but they did not schedule that meeting. They plan to pick a day at their next meeting, which isn't scheduled for another two weeks.
Selectmen spent two hours in nonpublic session prior to the regular meeting. Sullivan said the session was to discuss hiring personnel and that the board was talking to potential town administrators.
Atkinson has been without a town administrator since February and without an interim administrator since mid-July. No decision was made last night on hiring anyone, Sullivan said.
Atkinson Town Hall
The Norman Rockwellian picture of Atkinson
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32 comments:
Good job Paul.
Why not post the job. You may find that there is some retired individual that would be willing to make a few dollars helping the elderly. It would certainly be much better than being a Walmart receptionist.
I am a little miffed.
I was in the village store the day the article came out in the paper about the donation accounts, and I heard Mr. Polito telling people that it was the work of Mr. Acciard, that it had his fingerprints all over it. Well Mr. Polito you are wrong, it was me, and I choose to remain anonymous so that none of the chiefs friends or supporters can treat my car the way they did Mr. Acciard's
HEY 2:17, it wasn't you it was ME.
Not that I'm going to tell you who I am...........
Polito is then spreading false information about Mr. Acciard, I have the AGO emails and letters to prove it wasn't Mr. Acciard.
Paul Sullivan, thank you for taking a stand against this ego-maniac.
No wonder residents don't go to the Selectmen meeting with Phil the bully, hiding behind his badge.
You did what was right. Thank you for finally telling him to SHUT UP!
Next step is separation of the Elderly Affairs from the PD, JUST LIKE THE ATTORNEY GENERAL'S OFFICE SAID.
The misappropriation of tax dollars is so obvious it makes me sick.
Way to go Paul. you may not be popular with the Chief and his friends, BUT i give you credit for standing up to him last night and letting him know that this is a serious matter and that the BS needs to look into things. His way is to rush through things, his way and only his way. I support you and feel that you have the towns best interest at heart and won't fall for being blindsighted into makeing a decision without studying the facts. Thank You for being your own man.
What did I miss? I have been away. is this a recent problem with Mr. Acciard's car being trashed?
Polito Hacking on company time? Wouldn't surprise me at all. In a perfect world all of the corrupt people in town would get the boot.
The more i read and listen, the more upset i get. Thankyou Paul Sullivan for your efforts last nite, and don't stop the good battle.
Mr. Friel,
I am very disappointed in you. I voted for you because I thought with your business background you would be more upstanding, efficient, and responsible to the taxpayers who elected you. I am sorry that you have failed the test.
I guess in your company, you would allow your employees to;
1.) file false timecards
2.) approve subordinates false time cards
3.)allow employees to drive vehicles they were not certified to drive.
4.) be insubordinate to you
5.) violate state laws
6.) harrass your customers
because by sitting there doing nothing this is what you are doing to us.
I know this is off topic and for that I am sorry, but I have a theory I would like to test out.
I would like to ask a favor of all of my fellow bloggers, who post anonymously on this forum.
Would you please post a comment stating WHY you post anonymously, and please be specific.
I would greatly appreciate it,
Thank you,
Mark Acciard
i for one post anon because of fear of being attacked by the chief. why wouldn't i, look at what has happened to anyone who has publicly asked questions to the chief.
I post anonymously because I am concerned about reprisals and the effects my comments would have in so many different ways. Please keep in mind; I am not easily intimidated, and gladly take risks and confront people when necessary. But the costs of disagreeing with public officials in this town are simply too great to take a chance on unless absolutely necessary.
Let's say I want to speak out about all the influence that people involved in developing and construction have on the planning board (as opposed to protecting our town from overbuilding), or speak out about the Hampstead Water Company water withdrawal; could I really do that and then expect to do a future improvement to my home that would require me going in front of the planning board safely? With Harold Morse and Sue Killiam, both developers, Mr. Morse general manager of not only Hampstead Water, but also Lewis Construction and East Coast Lumber? It's ridiculous to think that anyone that is critical of their pro-business and pro-developer stance could get a fair hearing in front of that board. Look at how they attempt to bully the Chairman of the Conservation Commission everytime he wants to do something to protect our resources -- they're so bold in the attempts at silencing critics that's amazing to watch.
And regarding the Chief? Imagine what anyone publicly criticising him must face. The first thing he might do is run the records of critics (has anyone ever considered finding out if the state keeps track of when/who runs records and why?), find out if there's something embarassing in their past, and use that information to discredit them.
He can also pass word to his trusted officers to "keep an eye out" for you, or can choose to drag his feet when you need some type of police services.
The Chief's lack of professionalism is his biggest issue; he just can't perceive the difference between people criticizing his policies and people personally attacking him. The definition of professionalism is the ability to take yourself and your ego out of the equation when it comes to a job, and the Chief is COMPLETELY unable to do this, so you need to be able to remain anonymous when you discuss the problems he causes in town.
I post anonymously because my wife and I both read this blog and she is fearful of retribution. I thought she was crazy...and then I saw the photos of your car.
I post anonymously for fear of attack on my kids, and now my property. Also, too many cases of potential employers "googling" your name and holding that against the person. For example, I post something negative about Timberlane they will never hire me to be Superintendent.
Some think people posting anonymously so they can post whatever they want. With computer forensics, authorities can determine what computer I used to make this entry if I do something illegal.
I post anonomously because I am afraid of numerous forms of reprisals and attacks from Consentino and his thugs. Or deprivation of police services should I ever need them. When you have a job and a family, there is a limit you feel you can take with the risk of going against a person who has been given so much power to arrest, surveil, pull your records, conduct searches, etc.
With a bloated police dept budget approaching $1M and virtually unlimited resources and use of free legal counsel, you have to consider the risks of getting in his sights.
So we have to operate like the underground in WWII. But we have technology as our weapon and blogs and email which cannot be stopped (HA!). So the truth is getting out and finally, the dictator will be overthrown. I predict it will happen this year. I can see the day when we will all be free of this tyranny and can go to Selectmen's meetings and speak our minds freely and ask questions like:
So exactly how did this town pay for 1600 senior transports for only $19,000??????
Free we all will be in the near future. And Selectman Friel and Childs will have to answer to residents, and not Chief Conartist
Here are some of the things I have observed over the last 20 years, and this is why I post anon.
Acciard gets court to order phil to stop doing police stuff while selectman, We have seen the tirades on tv, the letters, the car.
Grant wrties to Ag because selectmen wont place panels after town vote. She gets yelled at on tv, written about in town report, talked about on tv, phil even opposes scenic byway just because it was Grants pet project! Think about that, He stands against something beneficial to the town just to stop his critic from having her way.
Boyle questions elderly affairs at budget meeting, kids pulled over, car searched, another kid investigated by PD, no charges filed.
Dale Childs writes to police standards about Phil, he has officers take pictures of her Hampstead Ac car, and writes to Hampstead Selectmen to get he fired.
Officer Rivera starts union to control Phil, gets told his probationary status will not renew, good bye.
Wayne Peak, accuses Phil of misappropriating funds. Phil sues him, follows him through town, gives tickets that get overturned. Peaks business investigated on anonymous tip.
Does anyone really wonder why we post anonymously?
I bet the KGB treated their enemies with more respect.
I've seen first hand how Phil treats people who disagree with him, and it certainly is not with respect. 12.33 PM nailed it. Many of us have families to be concerned about, property to protect. Retribution is a FACT in this town. It is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG. The fact the town did not get the message and allowed to continue after Peak is WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
Until we have a outside professional running the PD, we are in effect living in a police town. WRONG, WRONG, WRONG.
I will tell you one thing, if Phil ever gets me in his sites, you can damn well be sure there will be an electronic record of any encounter, and I do mean any.
Speaking of Phil, and when are we not, why does he have a commercial two-way radio antenna on his roof, the same type used at the police and fire stations? Those things are not cheap and far in excess of what is needed if you're just monitoring local frequencies. Did the town pay for that, and why?
I also post anon because of my family. The last thing i would want is my kids and spouse to be pulled over and bullied for my polital view. Not fair to anyone.
The new Atkinson Police Charitable Fund has been approved by the State.
The application must be accompanied by a bank statement showing the current balance and account number.
Phil has presented a copy of the Town ledger page showing current Town Police Donations of $17,974.72 that he intends to get from the Town and deposit into his new non-profit.
I do not think the Town should hand over this money just because Phil expects it.
This little Board of Directors stunt he is trying to pull is not what the AG intended. He probably got approval because the agency that gives those approvals most likely does not check with the AG first and has no clue to what prompted the application.
The BOS should, if they follow the AG's recommendations, hold the funds until Phil does it right.
The Charitable Trust Unit falls under the AGO and is the same unit that investigated. They are limited to administrating and guiding charitable funds.
I post anonymously because I heard Consentino called Mark Acciard's employer and told them that Mark was under investigation by the APD.
What a dick.
If he ever did that to me, it would cost them alot more than $3M to settle with me.
Non profit corporation papers are filed with the secretary of states office corporation division. Articles of agreement and bylaws are filed with them. Takes about 15 minutes, and $85.00.
To get a tax ID # you go to the IRS website and file for one, takes about 5 minutes, and no cost.
Now you have a certificate of authority to do business in NH. In good standing.
To become a tax aexempt charitable organization you have to file Form 1023 with the IRS, to apply for tax exempt status, takes 6-8 months and you have to file a $750 user fee, a conflict of interest policy that comports with IRS guidelines, and letter from an attorney or CPA, your articles of agreement, and by laws, along with the 28 page application.
Here's where the public can help.
Call the NH AGO, tell them what you think about this.
Call the NH DOJ Office of Public Integrity Complaints at 603-271-3671.
For that matter, call the US AGO at 202-353-1555.
Do you want them to audit the funds?
Do you want them to investigate the Chief criminally?
Tell them what you think.
All Phil's paperwork and latest letters have been sent to be posted on the Atkinson Taxpayer's website. Take a look at the disclosure, the last page is a copy of the bank account info showing the balance and amount he intends to deposit into his new non-profit. It's a copy of the TOWN police fund.
As to the Town giving Phil the Money in the donation acct.;
"An illegal article might include an appropriation of town funds for a purpose not permitted by law, such as a purely charitable donation for which the town receives nothing in return (no “quid pro quo”). See Opinion of the Justices, 88 N.H. 484 (1937) (the N.H. Constitution only permits towns and cities to appropriate money for “public purposes” for which it receives something in return)."
UH OH PHIL!!
Damn those pesky laws!
the N.H. Constitution only permits towns and cities to appropriate money for “public purposes” for which it receives something in return
Hey Phil, In this case "IT" legally means the town, not the individual elderly, not you.
My hope is the IRS will investigate fully and put some "stripes" on the chief but not on his sleeve! The BOS may be cowards; The AGO may be ineffective, but the IRS should step in and do their job aggressively. The IRS will hear my voice on the phone this week. The AGO will hear my voice on the phone next week. After this town gets a real shakedown it is time to take on the Eagle Tribune which defends the political hacks in Atkinson. Even when the eagle tribune prints what looks like criticism they turn around and twist the truth in their very next article and make it all look "ok". This is despicable. The Eagle Tribune is in the pocket of our wrongdoers but plays politics with all of us by printing mistruths. Their reporter, Megan, deserves nothing but our disdain. Her lack of morals and ethics is huge. The average citizen will benefit when she no longer steps foot in Atkinson. I do believe it is possible to have a respectable town. I want to live in an honest town.
The documents for the Atkinson Police Charitable Fund (APCF) have been posted on the Taxpayers site.
http://www.atkinsontaxpayers.org/atkinson/category/depts/
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