In response to conduct by Great Barrington town employees and officials at the special town meeting on April 17th, 2025, WAMC Berkshire Bureau Chief Josh Landes has submitted the following complaint:
“At the special Great Barrington town meeting of April 17th, 2025, I was stopped by members of the town government attempting to enter the auditorium of Monument Mountain Regional High School where the meeting was being held. I was told that as a non-resident of the town, I had to ask permission from the town moderator, Michael Wise, to enter. This is blatantly against state law around public meetings, and is completely unsupported by any statute. Town employees falsely told me there was a law requiring permission from the moderator, a statement they later retracted. The town moderator, who attempted to first dismiss and then laugh away the illegal action, blamed the town clerk's office for the policy and said he wasn't the one enforcing it. At one point when I stepped out of the meeting, I saw the town staff members again tell a non-resident that they would have to ask Wise's permission to enter the meeting. This was even more egregious as Wise was on stage moderating and thus could not possibly have granted permission illegally, and as a result, the town was illegally blocking a citizen from their right to attend a public meeting- a right clearly outlined in the Secretary of State's "Citizen's guide to town meetings" that Great Barrington itself links to from their town website. By the end of the night, the town solicitor agreed with me that my interpretation of the law was accurate and the town's inexplicable barrier to attending public meetings was inappropriate. I was told the measure was the result of former town clerk Marie Ryan. She admitted to me by the end of the evening that she had "misspoke" or misinterpreted state law. I faced resistance from Great Barrington's town staff at every step of the process despite their inability to cite any legal precedent for their actions and me showing them the state law they share on their own website.”
The persons indicated for violating state law include Town Moderator Michael Wise, Town Clerk Josh Risen, and Board of Registrars members Marie Ryan, Ellen Smith, and Linda Coons.
Here is what WAMC is asking from the town in light of its unlawful behavior:
“Great Barrington must immediately suspend its illegal practice of conditional entry to public meetings, issue an apology, and publicly state that they have erred by erroneously blocking people from their right to attend public meetings without anyone's permission. Whatever inherited internal rules that exist in town hall must square with state law, and the office of the town clerk and board of registrars cannot arbitrarily impose restrictions on members of the public.”
WAMC has distributed copies of the complaint to members of the Great Barrington town staff and selectboard.
“Access to public meetings is a hallmark of democracy, and reporters attend them on behalf of the public,” WAMC News Director Ian Pickus said. “It is unfortunate that filing this complaint is required. We are confident that leaders in Great Barrington will move swiftly to end these arbitrary restrictions on reporters and other members of the public.”
Per state law, here is how the town is legally obligated to respond:
“The chair must disseminate the complaint to the members of the public body. The public body must meet to review the complaint within 14 business days (usually 20-22 calendar days). After review, but within 14 business days, the public body must respond to the complaint in writing and must send the complainant a response and a description of any action the public body has taken to address it. At the same time, the body must send the Attorney General a copy of the response. The public body may delegate this responsibility to its counsel or a staff member, but only after it has met to review the complaint. If a public body requires more time to review the complaint and respond, it may request an extension of time for good cause by contacting the Division of Open Government.”
