Watertown board exchanges barbs

A shouting match erupted at Tuesday's Town Council meeting in Watertown, as members traded accusations over leaks from executive sessions.

But in the end, the councilors were unanimous in calling on town attorney Mark Reich to recommend ways to ferret out who had been talking out of turn.

The call for action was prompted in part by a Globe story Sept. 3 that revealed terms of a contract offer to Town Manager Michael Driscoll , said the council's president, Clyde L. Younger.

``We allow too many things to slide by," Younger said in a telephone interview Wednesday. ``We do have to take action, examine our own behavior and how we interact with the outside public."

Reich is to report back at the next council session, set for Sept. 26.

The fiery debate came at the end of a four-hour meeting Tuesday night.

Councilors Marilyn Petitto Devaney and Angeline Kounelis said that in addition to looking into the matter of leaks, the town attorney also should address what they see as a problem of councilors lining up votes through e-mails and phone calls ahead of meetings, which would be a violation of the state's Open Meeting Law.

They said they had heard reports of at least one councilor boasting publicly last month that he would ``make the vote happen" on Driscoll's contract at the Aug. 28 meeting. The council did vote to approve a contract at the meeting, according to sources who spoke with the Globe. The council last week was still nailing down the last details of the pact.

Councilor Jonathan Hecht lashed out at both Devaney and Kounelis. ``I'm really tired of hearing vague allegations. If you have evidence of that, come forward with that," Hecht said to Devaney, before cutting off her response with, ``How do you know that? How do you know that?

``You're making allegations about the ethics of your fellow members. It's enough! There's absolutely nothing in what you said to indicate serial calling," he said.

Turning to Kounelis, Hecht said, ``It's rumor-mongering."

Kounelis chastised Hecht for his ``demeaning" remarks. Hecht later apologized for raising his voice.

In the telephone interview, Younger acknowledged that the council may have erred by not providing the public with periodic updates about the town manager negotiations, as the School Committee had during contract talks with the teachers union. Younger speculated that the information blackout may have fueled rumors and prompted some councilors to divulge confidential matters.

Some councilors, including vice president Mark Sideris , expressed doubt that the town attorney would be able to accomplish anything substantial.

``There's not a lot that can be done," Sideris said Wednesday. ``It's very difficult to police this kind of thing."

Sideris said he contacted the Middlesex district attorney's office and the state Ethics Commission about the leaks but did not file a complaint because he wasn't sure the matter warranted state involvement. He said what concerns him most is that leaked information would harm the town's bargaining position.

Hecht expressed similar concerns Tuesday before the vote, asking Reich to look into the matter. ``I frankly don't think what we need is an investigation, we need people to take responsibility for their actions," Hecht told his colleagues.

Christina Pazzanese can be e- mailed at cpazzanese@globe.com.