Town Tax Collector Sues Over Records Request Dispute in Maine

SOMERVILLE, Maine — The town’s tax collector has filed a lawsuit against two local broadband officials, alleging they failed to provide public records related to Somerville’s multimillion-dollar broadband network.

Jon Amirault, who also serves as Somerville’s emergency management director, filed the complaint on June 5 in Lincoln County Superior Court. He claims Sharon Reishus, the former chair of the Somerville Municipal Broadband Board, and Douglas Shartzer, the current chair, did not comply with Maine’s Freedom of Access Act (FOAA).

Amirault’s lawsuit accuses the two of either concealing records related to long-term maintenance and financial planning for the broadband project or failing to do the planning work at all. The complaint challenges the transparency and credibility of the town’s management of the $1.6 million fiber network, which is funded by federal and state grants.

“At issue here is not just access to documents, but the credibility of a governance process that oversaw a multimillion-dollar infrastructure buildout,” the complaint states.

Officials Say They Met Request Requirements

Reishus and Shartzer, represented by town attorney Trevor R. Brice, denied the allegations in a response filed July 2. They argue they fully complied with the FOAA request and asked the court to dismiss the complaint with prejudice.

“I basically just gave him everything,” Shartzer said in an interview. “Meeting minutes — everything. So, if it’s not in there, it doesn’t exist.”

Shartzer said he had to threaten to sue the town to obtain legal representation for himself and Reishus, as Amirault is also a town official. Shartzer and Reishus argue that Amirault already had access to many of the records through his position.

“We’re a small town,” Reishus said. “This guy had questions. He could just ask us.”

FOAA Request and Project Details

Amirault’s May 3 public records request sought documents concerning long-term maintenance, financial forecasting, and cost modeling beyond year five of the town’s fiber network project. Reishus initially responded that no such planning had been done and said the select board was responsible for the records.

Shartzer later sent Amirault a large digital folder of project materials. Amirault described the files as “massive” and “disorganized” in his complaint.

“If you can’t find what you are looking for in these documents, it doesn’t exist,” Shartzer wrote in an email included in court records.

Broader Legal Questions

Amirault, who is representing himself, clarified that he filed the lawsuit as a private citizen and did not name the town as a defendant.

“These requests and court filings were done on my own time and at my own expense and by my own right and of my own free will,” he wrote in an email.

He is asking the court to rule that the officials violated the FOAA, compel the production of records, and issue findings about the adequacy of the town’s documentation. He also seeks reimbursement of legal fees.

However, FOAA appeals typically result in limited remedies. Courts may order the release of records and reimburse legal fees only if bad faith is proven. That standard is rarely met in Maine.

A status conference in the case was held last week in Wiscasset. Shartzer said the defendants offered to produce three specific files, which he claims were already included in the original folder. As of Wednesday, he said he had not received a response.

Reishus expects the case to be dismissed. Shartzer questioned why taxpayer money is being used to defend officials against a town employee.

“What we think is not fair,” he said, “is that the taxpayers are footing the bill to defend us against [a] town employee that has access to the records.”