To the editor:

Board of Trustees “a governing body of an organization, ensuring the best interest of the organization’s stakeholders”. Stakeholder “investor, interested parties”.

In 2011, the Tiverton voters, with 4,482 votes cast, approved a $10.6 million library construction project, by a narrow margin. Tiverton taxpayer’s are responsible for a $2.9 million bond.

I applied for the available position on the Library Board of Trustees as I believe that the library should have a diverse representation of stakeholders (voters) that fund the library from a town grant, FY19 is $565,000, plus the cost of the $2.9 million bond. I also would bring different ideas to the board due to my background as a retired software engineer with a learning disability. My assessment is that the board wants all their trustees to have a similar background and will not tolerate anyone that is different.

I objected publicly at the Jan. 28 Town Council meeting to my library interview assessment, due to several misleading and inaccurate statements made by the Board of Trustees … “Mr. Rom stated that he would advocate that the library not follow the Town Charter”.

What I said was that nowhere in the Tiverton Town Charter is the library referenced, nor is the library under the jurisdiction of the Town Council. This is clearly stated at the June 13, 2016 hearing on a charter complaint ruling by the Town Council, on the advice of Solicitor DeSisto. Why would the library follow the Charter? There is nothing to follow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ADFyKrL-mM

It was stated that ”Mr. Rom is the subject of several incident reports filed in the past year due to his verbal harassment of library staff and his belligerent behavior toward them”. As the Secretary of the July 2017 elected Charter Review Commission, I was required to not only post, but also to prove that I posted agendas under the Open Meetings Act (OMA). Just one library staff member refused to date, time and initial the agenda prior to posting, despite my explanation of OMA. She apparently took my insistence to follow the law as harassment. I have never been made aware of any incident reports, verbal or written, but have now submitted an Access to Public Records request for those reports.

Why do I want to be on the Library Board of Trustees when I am not wanted?
1. To represent stakeholders that have not been represented on the Library Board of Trustees in the past, ensuring the library is accountable to all Tiverton voters.

2. To bring fresh ideas and implement learning programs at the library, especially in math, to students with learning disabilities and students that may be struggling with standard math curriculums.

3. To ensure that the Tiverton Library follows their own policies, complies with state and federal law and that all citizens’ First Amendment Rights are protected.

Richard Rom

Tiverton