Council Backs Mayor In Library Fight; Trustees Dispute Removal

WOBURN, MA — Members of Woburn City Council supported the mayor's proposed legislation to change the Woburn Public Library's management structure Tuesday, but the trustees are fighting his attempt to remove President Jan Rabbitt from the board.

In a letter to Mayor Scott Galvin Monday, a lawyer representing the Board of Trustees disputed the mayor's authority to remove her and said his stated reasons for doing so were "entirely pretextual."

The council discussed for the first time Galvin's proposal to end lifetime appointments to the Board of Trustees and to give the mayor the power to appoint and remove the director, stripping the trustees of that power. While they did not take action on the special legislation Tuesday, all the council members expressed support for the bulk of his proposal.

A couple of council members said they were unsure whether the mayor should have the power to appoint and remove the director, noting that the trustees may have more familiarity with the director's work. Galvin countered that as the day-to-day manager of the city government, the mayor would be better suited to appoint the director.

The council agreed to continue to discuss the special legislation only in full council, rather than sending it to committee meetings that members of the public may not be able to attend. They asked the city solicitor to attend their next meeting so they can clear up any legal concerns they have about the proposed bill.

While one of Galvin's two moves with respect to the library seems to have strong support, the other faces an obstacle: a lawyer representing the trustees is disputing his removal of Board President Janet Rabbitt from the Board.

"The purported removal was made without authority and for an improper purpose, and is without effect," attorney Joseph F. Shea wrote in a letter sent to Galvin Monday.

Shea said that the authority Galvin cited in his letter to Rabbitt applies only to certain "municipal officers" which do not include the trustees.

"The short of the matter is that the Mayor of the City of Woburn has no authority to remove a Trustee of a separate body corporate, the Wobum Public Library, whether under Section 23 or otherwise," Shea wrote.

He also said that the reason Galvin gave for the removal — Rabbitt's actions at a recent meeting about Open Meetings Law complaints — was a mere pretext.

"Your actual motivation was improperly to intervene in the Woburn Public Library’s operations by pressuring it not to renew the Library Director’s employment contract," Shea wrote.

According to the letter, Galvin and Rabbitt met on Jan. 13 and he asked her not to renew the contract, but Rabbitt told him soon after there was no reason to do so.

"The Trustees demand that you withdraw the Letter and purported removal," Shea said. "Should you fail to do so, the Trustees will take all actions they deem appropriate."

Rabbitt had previously said that she had retained counsel and was fighting her removal.

According to the city website, the library's "Annual Meeting of the Corporation" previously scheduled for Wednesday has been rescheduled for Thursday, along with two other trustee meetings — one of the "personnel committee" and another of the full board.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.