'I am disgusted': Westerly Council descends into shouting, finger-pointing over financial mess

WESTERLY – Tensions hit a boiling point on Monday night as members of the Town Council squared off with teachers over demands for a $60,000 audit of a financial fiasco .

Town Manager Shawn Lacey once again insisted the issues stemming from an early January payroll failure are fixed, but teachers still want an audit and argue they have not been made whole.

The data problem that caused the mess has been described as a "corrupt file" that led to empty Health Savings Accounts, erroneous W-2 tax forms, late contributions to tax-sheltered annuity plans and issues with retirement plans under the Teachers Insurance and Annuity Association of America.

Town manager says issue fixed. But union president says teachers lost money.

While Lacey says the issue has been resolved, Westerly Teachers Association President Kristen Federico said teachers want to be reimbursed for expenses resulting from the error, including the extra tax preparation needed to amend their returns and medical fees paid out of pocket because of empty HSAs.

More: 'Never seen anything like this': Westerly teachers seek audit after file error ruins data

But councilors are divided over whether a pricey audit is needed.

"It's certainly not something you need," Councilman Dylan LaPietra told teachers, arguing the audit "is only going to tell us there was a human error made."

LaPietra suggested that instead of an audit, the town consider paying any expenses incurred by teachers on a case-by-case basis.

The meeting unravels: 'I am disgusted'

Councilman Robert Lombardo, who spent part of the meeting eyeing his phone, said that having the council consider the matter instead of leaving it to Lacey was "disrespectful."

"I can understand it’s getting into that season where you got to buy your votes," Lombardo said, alluding to election time. "So we’re going to take $60,000 to buy votes. That’s all it is. I am disgusted."

That's when the meeting started to unravel.

Federico told Lombardo she was "disgusted with the way that you have treated our teachers."

An educator in the audience began shouting at Lombardo, then Lombardo was accused of calling teachers "thugs," something council President William Aiello apparently did not hear. Back-and-forth finger pointing peppered the altercation, which ended once Aiello threatened to adjourn the meeting and clear the chamber.

"I do trust the manager saying these things are being worked [out]," Aiello said. "I don’t want it to take until the end of the school year."

Ultimately, the council did not vote on a resolution concerning an audit, but paused discussion until later this month. In the meantime, Federico is set to meet with Lacey in an effort to make progress toward a resolution – although an audit is not out of the question.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: 'I am disgusted': Westerly Council descends into shouting, finger-pointing over financial mess