By Lyndsie Ferrell
SOUTH FORK— The South Fork Town Board held their monthly work session on Sept. 11 and were presented with a confidentiality agreement by Town Administrator Dan Hicks.
Hicks began the conversation by stating that he and Town Attorney Gene Farish had been working on organizing all of the town’s records and noticed that up until 2014, town board members entered into a confidentiality agreement when elected to the board.
“From what we have found, prior to 2014, town board members entered into a confidentiality agreement for non-public matters and sensitive information. We would like to reenact the agreement due to past situations where sensitive information was leaked by possible members of the board,” explained Hicks. “We have had breaches in confidentiality in the past and this would give the town something official to go by if an incident ever occurred again.”
In the confidentiality agreement read by Hicks, it states that there would be disciplinary action taken against a board member that divulged any sensitive information that could potentially hurt the town or board. Trustee Vicki Phillips began the conversation by stating that she, for one, did not want to sign the agreement only because she felt that her word as a trustee was enough.
“I for one, will not sign the agreement. I should be taken for my word as a trustee that I will not leak information that could hurt the town. I stand by my decision,” stated Phillips. Hicks explained that the agreement was basic procedure that should have been enacted when the new trustees were put through training at the beginning of their terms. “You have to understand that this is standard practice for boards. It has nothing to do with this one specifically,” said Hicks.
Trustee Jim Patterson spoke up on the topic stating that he had no issue signing the agreement, but that he wanted to have details pertaining to the disciplinary action referred to in the document. “What does the disciplinary action entail? Can we be sued? Kicked off the board? I have no issue signing the agreement as long as that is defined before I do,” said Patterson.
Attorney Gene Farish explained that disciplinary action would not be anything monetary. “There is nothing monetary about the action a board would take if there were a breach in confidentiality. Normally it would entail being removed from the board in the worst-case scenario,” said Farish.
Patterson stated that he would sign the agreement once the disciplinary action that was referred to in the document was better defined. Trustee Sarah Stephens stated that she too would sign the agreement and that it merely formalizes the commitment of a board member to keep certain things confidential.
Hicks stated that he would have Farish rewrite the agreement so that the disciplinary action was better defined and present the document to the board during the next regular meeting.