Resident asks Norfolk County for records on lawsuits and American Rescue Plan spending

During the public-comment portion of the Jan. 14 Norfolk County Commissioners meeting, Matt Sheehan, identifying himself as a Norfolk County resident, requested several public records and raised concerns about county spending.

Sheehan asked for the county’s amounts spent on lawsuits involving the commissioners, including litigation related to a solar project in Walpole, and for any suits between the commissioners and the registrar’s office. He also asked for an accounting of American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds received by the county — saying the county received over $100,000,000 in a nine-month period before distribution to 28 cities and towns — and requested records showing any bonuses paid from those funds and where interest on the funds was allocated.

The chair asked whether Sheehan had submitted the request in writing; Sheehan said he had emailed Bill Buckley. No substantive response to the substance of the claims was provided on the record during the meeting. The request was made during public comment and would proceed under the county’s public-records procedures.

Sheehan concluded the comment by stating his Quincy residence near Granite Lakes.

Next steps for the county would be a formal public-records response through the records custodian if the request was properly submitted.