The GOAT News in Middleborough

Beyond unimaginable.

Beyond our routine scope but sharing for even more outreach.

A GoFundMe has been started to help the family of the little boy who was tragically killed yesterday in a car accident in New Bedford. A link to the GoFundMe will be posted in the comments.

“Anthony Pinheiro and his family are facing an unimaginable loss after Anthony's son tragically passed away when he was hit by a vehicle. This heartbreaking event has left the family grieving and struggling to cope with the emotional and financial challenges that come with such a tragedy.

During this difficult time, Anthony and his family need support from their community to help ease the financial burdens they are facing. The funds raised will go directly to the family, allowing them to focus on healing and remembering their beloved son without the added stress of financial worries. Losing a child is something no parent should ever have to experience, and the pain is overwhelming. The family is doing their best to stay strong, but the road ahead is long and difficult.

Any support you can offer will make a difference for Anthony and his family as they navigate this challenging period. Your kindness and generosity will help them feel less alone and give them hope as they move forward. Even the smallest donation will show them that their community cares and is standing beside them in their time of need.”

New followers: Welcome to the herd!

Another new record!
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⚾️ STATE CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND! 🏆

The Middleborough Sachems are headed to the MIAA Division 3 State Championship!

Polar Park, Worcester
Saturday, June 13, 2026
3:00 PM
Middleborough vs. Apponequet

After an incredible tournament run, the Sachems have earned their spot on the biggest stage. Let's pack Polar Park with orange and black and show our support for these student-athletes as they compete for a state title!

Bring the energy. Bring the noise. Bring your Sachem pride.

𝐋𝐢𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐫𝐲 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐂𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐄𝐧𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐅𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐀𝐫𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞, 𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐓𝐚𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐃𝐨𝐥𝐥𝐚𝐫𝐬

𝐵𝑒𝑡ℎ 𝑃𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑒 𝑒𝑥𝑝𝑙𝑎𝑖𝑛𝑠 𝑑𝑜𝑛𝑜𝑟-𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑡𝑒𝑑 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑐𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑠 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑠𝑝𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑙𝑖𝑚𝑖𝑡𝑠 𝑡𝑜 𝑟𝑒𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑖𝑑𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑎𝑏𝑜𝑢𝑡 ℎ𝑜𝑤 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑒𝑛𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑜𝑢𝑛𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑝𝑒𝑟𝑎𝑡𝑒

𝐁𝐲: 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 - Beth Paine, the new Library Director, has shared an explanation confirming that the library’s endowment and trust accounts are funded entirely by private bequests, legacy trusts, and donor-designated endowments - not by taxpayer money.

We have received an introductory notice from Beth Paine, the new Library Director, who respectfully asked us to share the attached.

In disseminating the attached explanation as to how their endowment and trust accounts operate, they hope to reassure residents that these accounts consist entirely of private bequests, legacy trusts and endowment funds donated specifically to the Library, not of taxpayer dollars.

She advises that many of these trusts carry strict donor-mandated restrictions: "For example, principal balances must remain untouched, and we are structurally limited to spending only a percentage of the monthly interest generated (typically 40% of the income), which allows the funds to sustainably grow for the library's future."

She also notes that, as seen in the attachment, that further questions can be directed to her through the Library.

Post-publication update from Library Director Beth Paine: "𝐼 𝑠𝑝𝑜𝑘𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑡ℎ 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑎𝑐ℎ𝑢𝑠𝑒𝑡𝑡𝑠 𝐵𝑜𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑜𝑓 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝐶𝑜𝑚𝑚𝑖𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑜𝑛𝑒𝑟𝑠 (𝑀𝐵𝐿𝐶) 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑟𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑀𝑖𝑑𝑑𝑙𝑒𝑏𝑜𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑔ℎ 𝑃𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦 𝑖𝑠 𝑡𝑒𝑐ℎ𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑎𝑙𝑙𝑦 𝑛𝑒𝑖𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟 𝑎 𝑚𝑢𝑛𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑝𝑎𝑙 𝑑𝑒𝑝𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑚𝑒𝑛𝑡 𝑛𝑜𝑟 𝑎 𝑠𝑡𝑎𝑛𝑑𝑎𝑟𝑑 𝑛𝑜𝑛𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑓𝑖𝑡—𝑖𝑡 𝑖𝑠 𝑠𝑖𝑚𝑝𝑙𝑦 𝑐𝑙𝑎𝑠𝑠𝑖𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑑 𝑎𝑠 𝑎 𝑃𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑖𝑐 𝐿𝑖𝑏𝑟𝑎𝑟𝑦."

𝐏𝐞𝐫𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐬 𝐑𝐢𝐩𝐬 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐨 “𝐆𝐫𝐨𝐬𝐬 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐬𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭” 𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧‑𝐌𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭 - 𝟐𝟔 𝐉𝐨𝐛𝐬 𝐂𝐮𝐭, $𝟑.𝟑𝐌 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 𝐂𝐢𝐭𝐞𝐝; "𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐖𝐚𝐬 𝐏𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞"

𝐁𝐲: 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 - In a blunt, town‑manager’s report Monday night, Interim Town Manager Joe Perkins laid the blame for the $3.3 million budget deficit squarely at the feet of the previous administration, calling the shortfall “preventable” and stating it was “gross fiscal mismanagement.”

Perkins said the deficit has already cost the town 26 positions and will force three more cuts halfway through FY27.

“This was not an economic downturn in the economy, this was not the result of reduced local aid - this was gross fiscal mismanagement and this was preventable,” Perkins said, reading from a prepared statement. After speaking with those who were laid off, Perkins stated he got the feeling they felt they were being tossed aside due to the $3.3 million deficit that was discovered.

Perkins said the town contemplated cutting 35 positions in total. Of those, five were vacant and not filled, two employment contracts were dissolved, one position was saved, and three were spared thanks to an uptick in state aid. One cut was handled through a shared‑services arrangement; three resignations were not backfilled; and three positions were saved through natural attrition.

In the end, Perkins said, 26 roles were eliminated.

He described the conversations with employees who were being laid-off as difficult.

“Those conversations hit me hard,” he said. “I felt an obligation to discuss that with them and the community.”

Perkins began the prepared statement by saying, "this past week was a difficult week" and personally thanked a string of town staff and volunteers who helped navigate the crisis, singling out Allison Ferreira, Hannah Green, union leadership, the GMEG board, Pam Menconi, Bob Whalen, Tricia Cassidy, Mary Connaughton, and from the Clerical Board; Kayla Barbato and Donna Jolen for their work over the past month. He also read aloud the names of employees who lost their jobs and urged the community to recognize their service.

“If you see them, thank them. Apologize,” Perkins said, listing affected employees: Gisele Lincoln, Sue Powers, Barbara Fontaine, Tammy St. Mars, Michelle Pinnetti Williams, Rhonda Coughlin, Maribeth Murphy, Gina Colon, Matt Foye, Brianna Abreu, Jayden Estrada, Hayley McClaren, Kimberly Michel, Ron Scarborough, Tracey Hewins.

Perkins framed the cuts as the painful consequence of decisions made before his tenure. He emphasized that the shortfall was not the result of outside forces.

“This was preventable,” he said near the end of his remarks, “I want to make sure people know that in this town.”

The interim manager said he met with laid‑off employees individually who expressed anger about the layoffs and felt that they were "forced into early retirement, unwillingly".

“They were angry. So was I,” he said. “I struggled with what I wanted to say tonight.”

Perkins also outlined how some positions were preserved. The town still faces hard choices. Perkins thanked staffers who helped “work through the issues".

The interim manager’s comments come amid broader scrutiny of a potential forensic audit, Middleborough’s fiscal controls and overtime practices in the Fire Department, which Perkins and others have cited as contributors to the shortfall. Perkins had previously singled out overtime spending as an example of decisions that should have been caught earlier.

“This was not an economic downturn… this was gross fiscal mismanagement,” he said again, driving the point home.

“I want to make sure people know that in this town,” he said, closing his prepared remarks. “This was preventable.”

TOWN COUNSEL
(KP LAW) IS AT-WILL. NO CONTRACT.
FIRE THEM.

𝑻𝑹𝑨𝑵𝑺𝑷𝑨𝑹𝑬𝑵𝑪𝒀 𝑻𝑼𝑬𝑺𝑫𝑨𝒀

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 𝐄𝐗𝐈𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐒: 𝐋𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐅𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐬 𝐀𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐃𝐞𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐚 $𝟓𝟎,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐓𝐫𝐮𝐜𝐤

𝐁𝐲: 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 - I have begun a focused records review to establish preliminary facts behind the departures of five former Middleborough officials and related fiscal questions, including a recent municipal vehicle purchase. The inquiry seeks documentary proof - employment contracts, separation agreements, investigation reports, vouchers, and emails - to determine what happened, who authorized it, and whether public funds were used to resolve personnel matters.

𝐖𝐡𝐨 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰 𝐢𝐬 𝐬𝐞𝐞𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠

James McGrail former town manager

Owen Thompson former fire chief

Kayla Smith former health director

R. Renee Fernandes former treasurer/collector

Robert Eckstrom former town accountant

𝐑𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝

Employment agreements and amendments

Resignation, retirement, termination, or separation records

Separation, settlement, release, or nondisclosure agreements

Investigation reports, disciplinary findings, and related correspondence

Vouchers, warrants, and journal entries showing payments or reimbursements

Communications between town officials about the separations

The scope may expand: additional former employees may be added as preliminary documents point to new leads.

𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐛𝐞 𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐛𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥

These are issues to be verified, not conclusions. The records sought are intended to test whether any of the following are supported by documentary evidence:

𝐌𝐜𝐆𝐫𝐚𝐢𝐥 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐅𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐢𝐭 - Issues that the fiscal shortfall occurred under McGrail’s watch and that he knew about and approved unusually large Fire Department overtime payouts. Records to check: overtime approvals, budget memos, and emails showing signoffs.

𝐓𝐡𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞 𝐈𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞𝐬 - Issues that the fire chief’s overtime practices contributed materially to the deficit. Records to check: overtime logs, approvals, and internal audits.

𝐒𝐦𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐄𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐲𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬 - Questions about activities related to her employment and departure that merit review of investigation reports and disciplinary records.

𝐅𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐐𝐮𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐝 - Officially listed as “retired,” but sources suggest the exit may have involved negotiated terms; records to check: separation agreements and payment vouchers.

𝐄𝐜𝐤𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐒𝐡𝐨𝐫𝐭 𝐓𝐞𝐧𝐮𝐫𝐞 - Issue that Eckstrom was hired over prior management objections and left quickly; records to check: hiring memos, recommendations, and separation documentation.

𝐏𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐝𝐨𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬

Separation and settlement agreements with severance amounts and nondisclosure clauses.

Vouchers, warrants, and journal entries showing any payments tied to separations and the accounts charged.

Investigation reports and disciplinary files and the legal basis for any redactions.

Emails and internal memos with metadata to establish timelines.

Employment agreements and hiring memos for vetting and approval context.

Budget transfers and appropriation records to confirm lawful funding.

𝐑𝐞𝐝 𝐟𝐥𝐚𝐠𝐬

Nondisclosure clauses paid for with public funds.

Payments made before appropriation or via post‑hoc transfers.

Heavy redactions without statutory citations.

Emails showing coordination to limit disclosure.

Hiring memos contradicting final decisions without explanation.

𝐍𝐨𝐭 𝐚 𝐅𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐀𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭

This is a basic records review, not a forensic audit. It can surface leads - contracts, vouchers, emails - but it lacks the forensic accounting, sworn interviews, subpoenas, data‑forensics, and reconciliation work needed to trace funds or quantify losses; if documents suggest systemic problems, commission a formal forensic examination.

𝐀 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐜𝐨𝐨𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧

Interim Town Manager Perkins and labor counsel Antoine Fares are already processing the records request and have been extremely cooperative. That responsiveness stands in contrast to the prior administration’s approach and should speed the fact‑finding process: timely production of vouchers, contracts, and investigative files will either substantiate concerns or put them to rest.

Correction: We mistakenly listed Fernandes with another first name and have corrected to R. Renee. We apologize for the apparent error.

𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒊𝒔 𝒂 𝒅𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒍𝒐𝒑𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒓𝒚.

Correction: We mistakenly listed "Michelle" Fernandes and apologize for the inconvenience.

We have requested and will be auditing the employment files of:

1. James McGrail
2. Owen Thompson
3. Kayla Smith
4. R. Renee Fernandes
5. Robert Eckstrom

𝐃𝐑𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐍 𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐏𝐄𝐍𝐃: 𝐓𝐨𝐰𝐧’𝐬 𝐝𝐫𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐨𝐧 𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐨 𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐜 𝐚𝐮𝐝𝐢𝐭

𝐏𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐒𝐞𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬

𝐁𝐲: 𝐉𝐨𝐡𝐧 𝐁𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐥𝐚

𝐌𝐈𝐃𝐃𝐋𝐄𝐁𝐎𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐇 - We reviewed the town’s vehicle spending over the past several fiscal years and what we found is, in our view, deeply concerning - especially in light of the recently uncovered $3.4 million deficit in the budget book prepared under former Town Manager Jay McGrail, a document he described as “balanced.”

Given that context, the town’s vehicle purchases deserve immediate public scrutiny.

We begin with the vehicle line items because they are emblematic of a larger problem: capital decisions made under the former McGrail/Germain administration without apparent adequate transparency, prioritization, or long‑term fiscal planning.

𝑨𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒚𝒔𝒊𝒔: McGrail & Co. dropped $110,644 on two semi‑luxury SUVs. One of them went to DPW Director Chris Peck - and yes, he’s still driving it.

The average Middleborough tax bill is about $6,200.

So those two vehicles alone equal the annual tax bills of nearly 18 households - and that’s before you even add fuel, insurance, maintenance, or upfits. Want to talk priorities? Because that’s a tidy chunk that could’ve gone straight to saving jobs, animal care, extra or fixing up buildings.

Ready for that forensic audit yet?

𝑨𝒄𝒄𝒐𝒓𝒅𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒕𝒐 𝑻𝒐𝒘𝒏 𝒆𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒐𝒚𝒆𝒆𝒔, 𝑱𝒂𝒚 𝑴𝒄𝑮𝒓𝒂𝒊𝒍 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝑴𝒂𝒓𝒌 𝑮𝒆𝒓𝒎𝒂𝒊𝒏 𝒃𝒐𝒕𝒉 𝒍𝒂𝒖𝒈𝒉𝒆𝒅 𝒂𝒃𝒐𝒖𝒕 𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒑𝒖𝒓𝒄𝒉𝒂𝒔𝒆𝒔.

𝑾𝒆 𝒅𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒔𝒆𝒆 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒉𝒖𝒎𝒐𝒓 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒂𝒓𝒆 𝒈𝒖𝒆𝒔𝒔𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒚𝒐𝒖 𝒘𝒐𝒏'𝒕 𝒆𝒊𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓.

ENORMOUS levels of interest in the "DRIVEN TO SPEND" analysis.
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