Page 4 THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – Friday, March 15, 2019 ASKS | from page 1 Law Offices of Terrence W. Kennedy 512 Broadway, Everett • Criminal Defense • Personal Injury • Medical Malpractice Tel: (617) 387-9809 Cell: (617) 308-8178 twkennedylaw@gmail.com 8 Norwood St. Everett (617) 387-9810 Kitchen Hours: Mon-Thurs: 12-10pm Fri-Sat: 12-11pm Sunday: 1pm-10pm www.eight10barandgrille.com gus Middle-High School under construction: not to also become the future home of Saugus Community Television. Garabedian was born in Rochester, N.Y., and moved to Saugus with his family when he was in the fourth grade. He has lived in the town most of his life. He is a Vietnam War Veteran who served three years in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Army Security Agency. He was discharged as a Specialist-4. Garabedian received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Communications from Emerson College. He worked 20 years at Polaroid in Cambridge, running the video production facility. From 20072013 he was the executive director of Saugus Community Television, Inc. He is the founder of Garmedia LLC, a video production company based in Saugus, and he also does security work. He is the father of two adult children. Some highlights of the interview follow. Q: Okay, Rich. You were interested in talking with us and said you wanted to “bring some closure” to your situation. You worked previously as executive director … A: Yes, I was the executive director of Saugus Community Television back in 2007. Q: You worked up until … A: 2013. Q: So, you were discharged at the time. A: Yes. I was terminated at the time, for political and philosophical differences. Q: So, a lot of people probaCelebrate St. Paddy’s Day! Corned Beef & Cabbage Dinner Served All Day Sat., March 16 Where everyone’s Irish for a Day! Try our $10 DINNER Menu w/ 2 sides Facebook.com/ advocate.news.ma bly aren’t even aware of your situation, because it’s been more than five years since you left the station. But you said you wanted to come back and talk about it, so please proceed. A: Thank you for the time meeting with me today. I appreciate it and that you are helping me to find closure on a difficult time in my life. I had a wonderful opportunity to “give back” to a community I know and love and did to the utmost of my capabilities. It was a rare opportunity to grow an openness and honesty within a community. I and many others tried. Basically, I want to address just a few financial issues that were never resolved, not only for me, but for other people in the community. We’re interested in finding out about what happened with some missing money: what happened to the funds that were there when I left. When I was terminated, there was over $750,000 in cash and there was $300,000 in CDs. Nobody knows where that money went. There’s no accountability or transparency on what happened. Q: I understand that you attempted to get some audits related to this? A: Yes. Q: Please tell me, what was the result of that? A: After I left the station, the last final audit, I believe, was in 2012. And there was no significant deficiency; it said that everything was fine, under my tenure. However, under subsequent years following – in 2014 and 2105 – there are no records, no audits. There is no accountability. There was no transparency. We don’t know where any of those funds went, and we’d still like to get an answer to that. Q: Now, you were showing me a letter that you had written … A: Yes, that’s a letter to the town requesting some information regarding any audits for those years. Q: So, you made a public records request in early 2017. Is that right? A: Correct. Q: And you got a response on Feb. 22, 2017.... A: Yes, I got a response from the town manager himself. Q: And what did he say? A: In regards to the Public Records request, which is dated Jan. 27, 2017, requesting an audit, he told me “there are no responsive records that exist.” Q: That means the audits you requested don’t exist. … And you specifically requested the audits. A: Correct. Q: And just to clarify, for what FY 2020 BUDGET | from page 1 bury briefed them on their proposals. “I for one believe it’s time for Saugus to have a traffic unit,” Finance Committee Chair Kenneth DePatto said of the town manager’s recommendations to create a unit dedicated to enforcing posted speed limits throughout town in addition to other regulations. Crabtree’s proposal comes in the wake of citizens calling on town officials to make town streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists and motor vehicle traffic. DePatto said he believes that Town Meeting members will be very supportive of efforts to create the special traffic unit when the Annual Town Meeting convenes on May 6. Crabtree, a former officer on the Saugus police force, stressed that his administration seeks to address public safety concerns. If his budget requests are supported by the Annual Town Meeting, Saugus will have 52 patrolmen and 39 firefighters employed by the town. Crabtree has recommended an increase of $791,123 in his proposed Police Department years? A: Specifically, 2014 and 2015. Q: And that was for during a period after you had left and were no longer part of the station. A: Absolutely. That’s why we are trying to find out what happened to those funds. Q: Okay, so at that point in time back in 2017, you have a letter which essentially, if you read it at face value, says that there are no financial audits available for those two years. A: Don’t you find that strange – that much money wouldn’t be accounted for? I do. Q: So, to bring closure to this, what do you want? What do you hope for? A: I’d like to find out whether there is any information available on what happened to those funds. It’s the public’s money and the public has a right to know what happened to it. And another thing I would like to bring up … with all the improvements in the infrastructure and construction in the town that’s going on – under this Town Manager and Board of Selectmen, there is some wonderful progress being made. They’re building the new Middle School-High School; there are upgrades in roads; there have been renovations to Town Hall. But especially with the new High School, you would think that in order to maximize that, you would want to have a studio facility in there that would really help the kids and it would be state of the art. Concord has a thing like that where they really tie it into the community and the school. Take a look at what the new Concord, Mass., High School complex accomplished with their local TV station. They’ve created a student- and citizenfriendly cable TV facility – a facility that helps both students and the community. We could have the same type of firstclass operation here. Q: Have you ever approached ASKS | SEE PAGE 10 budget for the new fiscal year. That request includes $597,641 in additional funds for the salaries and wages of full-time Police Department personnel. This includes salaries for the chief, nine lieutenants, nine sergeants, one administrative assistant, one principal clerk, one general assistant and the 52 patrolmen. The town manager’s proposed budget includes an increase of $374,939 in the Fire Department budget from the current fiscal year. That request includes $334,871 in additional FY 2020 BUDGET | SEE PAGE 6
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