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Photo Pru Sowers
DPW Director David Guertin has been fined by the state ethics commission for violating the state’s conflict of interest law.
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Guertin fined for conflict of interest
PROVINCETOWN — David Guertin, DPW director, has been fined $2,000 by the Massachusetts State Ethics Commission for violating the state conflict of interest law.
As a result, Town Manager Keith Bergman said he has referred the ruling to town counsel but would not comment on whether town officials would take further action against Guertin. Cheryl Andrews, chair of the board of selectmen, said she is waiting to decide whether the state ethics ruling would have any “impact for staff.”
“The situation is a disappointment, and I’m waiting to hear from the town manager’s office whether there is any implication. I agree with Selectman [Michele] Couture when she was quoted as taking ethics violations very seriously,” Andrews said.
The ethics commission fine, consisting of a $1,000 civil penalty and $1,000 forfeiture, came as a result of a complaint about Guertin’s free use in 2001 of a temporary mooring at a boat slip owned by Provincetown-MacMillan Realty Trust (PMRT). PMRT owns 16 MacMillan Wharf, which houses the Whydah Pirate Museum and boat slips used by Boston Harbor Cruises.
A spokesperson for the state ethics commission wouldn’t comment on who filed the complaint with the agency but it surfaced following a $660,000 betterment assessment the town made against 16 MacMillan Wharf in 2005, which PMRT owners are fighting.
The conflict of interest arose, according to the ethics commission, in late spring 2001, when Guertin, who had moored his 30-foot sailboat in Provincetown Harbor, began making repairs to the boat.
“A PMRT principal, seeing that Guertin was having some difficulties, invited Guertin to tie up his boat at the PMRT slip on the wharf to make repairs. The parties did not discuss a docking fee for Guertin’s use of the slip,” the ethic commission ruling read.
At the time, according to the ruling, Guertin was the project manager for the renovation of the town-owned MacMillan Pier, was involved in overseeing the town wastewater system, and in determining betterment assessments, “all of which financially impact PMRT.”
Guertin docked his boat at the PMRT slip for approximately 10 days, a service worth approximately $1,000, the ethics commission said, and which was given to him “because he was the DPW director.”
“The privilege was unwarranted and not otherwise properly available to similarly situated individuals because Guertin received a benefit that other members of the boating public were not entitled to and had reason to know it was given to him to foster goodwill in his dealings with PMRT,” the ethics commission ruling read.
Guertin said he has already paid the $2,000 fine but could not comment further because the $660,000 betterment assessment dispute is still being argued in Barnstable Superior Court.
A betterment is an extra tax assessment levied on the property owners who benefit from a public improvement project such as a sewer or pier reconstruction. The town levied a $660,000 betterment on the Whydah Wharf, which abuts MacMillan Pier, as a way to recoup part of cost of the $16.7 million MacMillan reconstruction cost, which the town said improved access to the Whydah Pirate Museum and the Boston Harbor Cruises dock.
The town’s assessment calculation, which was proposed by Guertin and endorsed by town counsel, said that 16 MacMillan Wharf takes up 3.9 percent of the total distance around the MacMillan and Whydah wharfs. The $660,000 assessment is 3.9 percent of the $16.7 million project cost.
The PMRT principals have complained that $660,000 represents about half of the 2005 assessed value of 16 MacMillan Wharf.
psowers@provincetownbanner.com
Read the full text of this story in this week’s Banner.
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Interim commissioner to scrutinize process
In the News
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Feb 8th, 2007