HARTFORD — A discussion between residents and some Selectboard members over the proposed Welcoming Hartford ordinance got heated at a Saturday meeting, just days before the immigrant policing ordinance goes up for a vote.
The meeting, which saw around 80 people in attendance, was scheduled to go over some items that won’t be on the Town Meeting ballot Tuesday like salaries and town reports.
And, while the ordinance wasn’t included on Saturday’s agenda, residents and some Selectboard members used much of the public comment session to make their final arguments for — or against — the controversial proposal.
The ordinance, which will be on Tuesday’s ballot, is one of four similar proposals in towns in the Upper Valley. It would bar local police from sharing a person’s citizenship status with federal authorities and would prohibit police from pulling over or arresting people based on their suspected immigration status.
Activists who have been pushing for the ordinance since last summer say it could help provide protection and support for undocumented members of the community, while opponents worry about the legal ramifications.
“(The ordinance) may have significant financial consequences in the town of Hartford,” said White River Junction resident Ken Parker, an insurance agent, who began the discussion over the ordinance during the comment session Saturday.
He echoed concerns that other opponents of the proposal have expressed: that it violates two federal laws put in place in 1996 that say local governments cannot keep citizenship information from federal authorities. Supporters of the ordinance have said that the federal laws themselves are unconstitutional.
Parker said the violation of federal law might exclude the town from insurance coverage, meaning Hartford might not be protected in case it gets sued over the ordinance.
“The burden could fall on the individuals,” he said.
Selectboard member Kim Souza, who is up for reelection on Tuesday, responded to his concerns, saying members of the American Civil Liberties Union and the Vermont chapter of the National Lawyers Guild have assured her that a lawyer could defend the town pro bono in the event of a lawsuit pertaining to the ordinance.
She also argued that the town is “not always compliant” with federal law, noting that the town tries but does not live up to all Americans with Disabilities Act laws or marijuana laws.
But Joseph Trottier, another Hartford resident who spoke up at the meeting, took issue with her stance, saying a person shouldn’t get to “pick and choose” which laws to obey.
“Are we a nation of lawbreakers?” he asked.
Sandy Mariotti, who is running for Selectboard, asked about several legal studies that the town paid for to examine the ramifications of the ordinance.
“A lot of money and time and taxpayer money has been spent in getting counsel recommendations, and the recommendations weren’t taken,” she said.
But Selectboard member Jameson Davis, a Vermont Law School student who is not seeking reelection next week, defended the studies. He said the job of the attorneys was not to convince the board to vote one way or the other on the issue, but rather to give information based on fact.
“This is not a light conversation,” he said, adding that the board has done their “due diligence” over more than four months to ensure the ordinance they’re putting forward is well-researched. “We are privileged as a community to have this conversation.”
Davis also touched on the earlier debate over the legality of the ordinance, reminding residents that people have broken laws in the past to effect change.
“Before slavery was outlawed, the underground railroad existed,” he said. “If the federal government isn’t moving fast enough for us, then we have the opportunity to move faster.”
Ballot voting will run from from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tuesday at Hartford High School.
Anna Merriman can be reached at amerriman@vnews.com or 603-727-3216.