Lancaster receives Pacheco resignation notice; rise in electric rates questioned

LANCASTER - Town Administrator Orlando Pacheco sent a resignation email to Selectman Jason Allison dated Nov. 9, giving his 60 days required notice, which said a formal letter is coming. 

There was some discussion at a special meeting Nov. 10 about whether an email would suffice per Pacheco's contract; HR Director Sandi Charton said it did.  Pacheco said it was "not a long-winded goodbye letter," but he wanted to make sure it was official with Lancaster as soon as the Georgetown contract was executed.

Allison said that although it was 60 days notice contractually, it can change or deviate.  Pacheco didn't respond to that, but said that if Lancaster needs him, he will be available after the 60 days, and has already gotten approval from the chair of Georgetown's Selectboard to help Lancaster. 

He also said they will have continuity on some of what he's been working on via town employees and volunteers.

The board does need to discuss how they'll transition, Pacheco said.

While Allison said no one had done the math on Pacheco's last day, it "stinks" to lose him.

"It's been a really good run," Pacheco said, but he had to take "the right job at the right time" closer to home.

Electricity

The Selectboard and Pacheco argued about higher pricing of electric aggregation this year.

Selectman Jay Moody wondered how the electricity contract was signed without approval from the Selectboard, and said he didn’t want the increased cost as an additional burden on the elderly.

There were similar concerns when he started the process in May, Pacheco said, when he had the initial numbers for this year.  He said those were “a steal” and it was like “(hitting) the elderly with a sledgehammer” that the deal was not taken.

He said Moody and Selectman Alix Turner decided to take no action and chose to wait on finalizing a supplier contract; Allison had recused himself. 

In the interim, the price increased by over 10 percent.

Pacheco said Moody and Turner “booted” the deliberations to the Energy Commission, and asked for information that wasn’t relevant, but that he gave them.  The two selectmen disagreed, saying they still hadn’t received that information.

Turner said they should have been told when approval of the aggregation contract was critical, but sided with Moody, stating that the contract hadn’t been approved so Pacheco shouldn’t have signed it.

The town administrator always executes that contract, Pacheco said, and the original pricing was because of his negotiations. 

“People can go to any supplier,” Turner said.

Pacheco said “it’s not entirely truthful” the way this issue has been presented to the public by selectmen.  He said there have been quarterly reports for years showing savings and, if he had waited even further on the contract, the aggregation program would have been suspended entirely.  Everyone on it would’ve been moved to the “even more expensive” National Grid.

“We’re all paying a lot for energy, period,” Turner said.