Jesse Floyd
Mary Byrne
Editor’s note: This story was updated Feb. 29 at 1 p.m.
On Tuesday, the state’s Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) invalidated the retirement board’s controversial vote to reappoint Chair Thomas Gibson, who has served for more than two decades.
In a separate action, the Select Board filed an Open Meeting Law complaint against the Retirement Board, alleging the vote to appoint Gibson as the fifth member violated the state law. According to the complaint, filed Wednesday in Middlesex Superior Court, the Select Board seeks to prohibit Gibson from taking the oath of office for a new term.
Retirement Board Vice Chair Walter Wellman called the vote to select Gibson on Monday, Feb. 26, when one of the members, Town Accountant Donna Tuccinardi, was absent.
Tuccinardi and member Brian Antonellis had voted in favor of another candidate in two previous deadlocked votes, and the Select Board was expected to resolve the issue by appointing the fifth member.
In an interview with The Voice on Monday, Wellman said with Tuccinardi away, he saw an opportunity to break a month-long impasse, so he decided to take it.
“”I’ve never seen anything like this,”” said PERAC General Counsel Judith Corrigan, who has been with the organization for 25 years.
In a letter to Gibson on Tuesday, PERAC Executive Director John W. Parsons invalidated the vote, saying it violated a 2009 PERAC memo requiring four voting members to be present and vote when the fifth individual is selected.
Gibson said Wednesday the Retirement Board has appealed the PERAC ruling and plans to schedule a board meeting next week to discuss litigation and “finalize the selection, once and for all, before the selection defaults to the Select Board on March 7.”
According to Corrigan, Gibson asked for an expedited ruling on his appeal and for the PERAC decision to be stayed until his appeal is decided.
Corrigan said this is the first time anyone has challenged the 2009 directive.
An ‘Egregious Violation’ of Open Meeting Law
The Retirement Board’s Monday vote in favor of Gibson was not posted on its agenda. Select Board Vice Chair Elizabeth Dionne called that an “egregious violation of the Open Meeting Law.”
Download entire complaint, including exhibits.
The Select Board is requesting the court schedule a hearing within 10 days of the complaint being filed to determine if the Retirement Board violated the Open Meeting Law.
Select Board Chair Roy Epstein called the vote an “apparent disenfranchisement” of Tuccinardi, who he said faced severe criticism at a previous meeting for failing to back Gibson.
Wellman said the vote on Monday was above board and legal.
“People need to put on their big-boy pants and get on with life,” Wellman said when asked about the optics of leaving the vote off the agenda.
PERAC said that issue falls under the purview of the Attorney General’s Office and the Division of Open Government.
Decision Could Move to Select Board
The Select Board announced Monday night it will accept applications for Gibson’s seat on the Retirement Board, which manages more than $150 million in town pension funds.
In the case of a stalemate, the decision moves to the Select Board 30 days after the end of Gibson’s term.
That window closes on March 7, and the Select Board has scheduled a meeting on March 8 with the intent to appoint a new member. Corrigan said PERAC believes the 30-day window is still in play.
The Retirement Board faced criticism in the 2023 Warrant Committee report for how it manages the pension fund. The committee recommended the board delegate all investment management to the state’s Pension Reserves Investment Management Board or PRIM.
The committee said total management by PRIM would reduce fees and noted that historically, PRIM has had similar, if not better, returns on Belmont’s pension fund investments.
On Monday night, Epstein pointed out Gibson has held his seat since the retirement board was formed in 1996.
