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Anonymous correspondence will no longer get read out at Fredonia's Board of Trustees meetings.
Trustees voted, 4-0, last week to make the change. The resolution they passed begins that anonymous letters "may still be shared with the mayor and trustees for their review."
However, trustees "shall not read anonymous correspondence aloud at village meetings. To be read publicly, all submissions must include the sender's name and community location."
The move is in apparent response to a recent letter that disparaged and belittled Mayor Michael Ferguson. The writer signed the letter, but requested their name not get used when it was read at a trustees meeting. A fear of retaliation from the mayor was cited.
Trustee Tim Mulholland had some concerns about the anonymous correspondence resolution at a workshop the week before it was passed. Mulholland successfully got some wording changed in the resolution, though sponsor Trustee Paul Wandel insisted that the overall intent of it not get altered.
Mulholland was the only trustee not present for the vote on the resolution. Trustees Ben Brauchler, Christine Cruz Keefe and LeeAnn Lazarony joined Wandel in voting for it.