All 5 Dedham Library Trustees Resign From Board

DEDHAM, MA — Dedham's entire Board of Library Trustees resigned on Wednesday. All five members submitted resignation letters to the town clerk and said the strained relationship between the board and town leadership led them to the "distressing decision."

All five members on the board have served together for five years. The members, Margaret Connolly, Tracy Driscoll, Sarah Santos, Mary Ann Sliwa and Monika Wilkinson signed the letter that said town leadership was uncooperative during their tenure.

"The framework of the library requires a level of support and cooperation between Town Management and Trustees. Disappointingly, the Town Manager’s Office has impeded our efforts many times throughout our tenure, bringing us to this decision today," the trustees said in a statement to Patch.

The resignation is effective immediately.

In a statement to the Dedham Times, the trustees mentioned a 2019 investigation conducted by the town into Dedham Public Library employee complaints. The trustees said they were notified about the complaints and brought them to the town since the trustees are not tasked with handling the library staff. The trustees claim the town should have followed a formal grievance process but instead opted for an investigation and later failed to properly communicate the results.

Dedham Town Manager Leon Goodwin said he understands the relationship between the trustees and town leadership has been strained, but maintained that the investigation that the trustees cited was the right avenue to pursue and that the complaints were not subject to the grievance process.

The investigation is confidential.

"The town has tried to support the trustees — it's unfortunate they didn't feel like they had that support," Goodwin told Patch.

He said the resignation and strained relationship between the trustees and town leadership is not indicative of the town's relationship with all boards and commissions, but rather a complicated relationship between the trustees and the Dedham Public Library.

"Communication certainly was an issue, but I think the flow of my communication with the trustees was smooth — I think the substance of that communication is where they disagreed," Goodwin said.

He added that "personnel and morale issues" plagued the Dedham Public Library. Goodwin attributes part of the morale issues with the "revolving door of directors," the library has seen. Starting in 2019, former director Bonnie Roalsen left the position and moved to the same position in Woburn, where she is now facing criticism as the library deals with potential cuts. Following Roalsen was Ryan Brennan who took over as director, but also resigned from the position in March. The current director is Amber Moroney.

Goodwin said he believes library staff may not feel supported by the trustees. The trustees highlighted in their statement to the times, that they are not tasked with handling library staff and staff issues, only with hiring the library director. Library staff complaints and issues are to be addressed to the town manager, Select Board and human resources department.

"It is no longer sustainable for us to serve in this elected albeit volunteer position that has placed unreasonable demands on us. Intolerable circumstances have brought us to this unfortunate, but necessary, decision. We sincerely hope that the current system will be properly analyzed to provide Dedham residents with the cohesive Library-Town relationship they deserve," the trustees said.

Samantha Mercado can be reached at samantha.mercado@patch.com