Coventry Town Council passes resolution to improve fiscal transparency

COVENTRY, R.I. (WLNE) — What’s left of the Coventry Town Council voted unanimously for a resolution that will allow all town councilors to review unredacted legal invoices.

Previously, only Town Council President Hillary Lima had the liberty to access such information.

That was a key issue former Councilors Scott Copley and James LeBlanc wanted resolved before they resigned earlier in April.

ABC 6 asked Lima what changed between now and then.

“I wouldn’t say that things have changed,” Lima said. “I would say that we received a memorandum from the solicitor, we voted to make that a public document this evening. That is a lengthy memo that articulates the case law that details the consequences of wide circulation of unredacted legal invoicing and billing.”

Lima said Town Solicitor Steven Angell proposed the solution to add extra transparency on top of what was already in place, while still protecting the town.

When ABC 6 reached Copley on Wednesday, he said the ability to review those invoices was exactly what he wanted.

On April 8, Copley detailed to ABC 6 why he was concerned with his inability to view the documents.

“I understand [redacting the invoices] if the public wanted to see them, because there could be private information that could jeopardize cases and all that,” Copley said.

“But as a town council member, the solicitor serves me,” he continued. “I am the client of the town solicitor, so therefore, I have a right to see those unredacted invoices.”

Lima said, from her position, it was made clear to Copley and LeBlanc that the memo that led to Tuesday night’s resolution was coming all along.

There’s also the matter of a recall petition, as a group of residents continues to gather signatures to recall three councilors, including Lima.

The council president said she just hopes the slew of vitriol online will cease.

The Coventry Police Department said Wednesday that an sexually violent threat that Copley allegedly made toward Lima is still being investigated by the attorney general’s office.

Copley has strongly denied making that remark.