Current Holland Massachusetts Highway Surveyor, Brian Johnson, along with four former Holland selectmen, have been charged by the Ethics Commission in a ruling that states they broke the law when the board authorized money to the town's counsel to represent Johnson on a lawsuit against a private citizen.
In a report by Masslive.com, the board authorized $23,023 in payments to a group of counsel who represented Johnson in a lawsuit against a citizen. The citizen is known to be always against municipal officials, being tagged as a critic. The commission saw the action of the board, as well as Johnson's, as an attempt "to interfere with the exercise of citizens' rights."
Members of the board include Michael Kennedy, Christian Petersen, James Wettlaufer, and Lynn Arnold stated that they have returned the money from their own savings, which is why the commission decided to not bring legal action on the matter.
While legal action was not put into light, the state panel says in a "Public Education Letter to Town of Holland Selectmen and Town Highway Surveyor" that the group's action violated the law. According to the commission, the board used their positions to give themselves "unwarranted privileges or exemptions of substantial value, which are not properly available to similarly situated individuals," as stated in a report by Masslive.com.
The commission stated the situation as a transgression, and that there was no legal basis for Johnson's private civil lawsuit. The ethics commission stated that Johnson broke the law by allowing legal representation to back him up, a privilege for which he was not entitled.
"Public employees who have disputes with local residents do not have the public coffers at their disposal to fund their private lawsuits," states the letter to the former town officials and Johnson, as published in a report by Masslive.
The said resident who Johnson filed a case against is Peter Frei, as named in the public education letter. According to the official document, Frei runs a website called The Holland Blog 01521.com.
The letter went on to describe that the resident regularly publishes articles on his website that are critical of the officials, and Highway Surveyor Brian Johnson and his family are a regular feature of these articles. The public education letter also pointed out the "well known" feud between Frei and Johnson's family, and that Frei has filed multiple lawsuits against the Town and its said employees.
