GRANBY — After six months on the job, the Select Board fired former Town Administrator Tammy Martin last December for allegedly failing to complete financial records and behaving rudely toward other staff members, including encouraging an employee to “bully” a co-worker until they quit, according to recently released executive session minutes.
Minutes from the Dec. 1, 2025 meeting — the night the Select Board voted to release Martin from her duties — revealed that the town could not process tax bills because Martin did not finish her accounting duties. The minutes state that she did not know how to use the accounting software she claimed to have experience with in her job interview, and that “numerous” town employees complained about her behavior.
Martin’s attorney, John Clifford, counters that the minutes include statements that are untrue and do not reflect the portion of the meeting at which he and Martin attended.
“They violated letter of law, spirit of the law, Ms. Martin’s rights,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”
The meeting minutes were released as part of an Open Meeting Law complaint filed with the Attorney General’s Office on May 26. Clifford submitted the complaint, which included the meeting minutes, on behalf of Martin. In the complaint, Clifford said the minutes were incomplete, incorrect and unlawfully withheld for four months.
Granby’s new town administrator, Ron Aponte, responded to that allegation on behalf of the town in a letter to the AG’s Office, asserting that the minutes were not falsified or deficient. He said the minutes were withheld because of an ongoing settlement agreement with Martin, and only released at the behest of Clifford.
Martin filed for arbitration in June for violation of her contract. Clifford asserts that the probationary clause in Martin’s contract was not adequate, and the town has clashed with Martin over when her probationary period started.
After the retirement of Christopher Martin, whom Tammy Martin has no relation, the Select Board hired Martin as town administrator in March 2025. She officially took over duties in June and worked until the board voted to release her from the position on Dec. 1.
Select Board violated Open Meeting Law
While the Attorney General’s Division of Open Government is investigating Martin’s May 26 complaint and has yet to make a ruling, it has faulted the Select Board in a separate complaint for violating two aspects of the Open Meeting Law during that Dec. 1 meeting. Martin submitted that complaint in January 2026 over the procedures around her firing.
In his April 28 decision on the January 2026 complaint, Assistant Attorney General Matthew Lindberg said the board violated the Open Meeting Law when it declared before an executive session that it would only reconvene after the session to conclude the meeting. Instead, the board came out of executive session and voted to fire Martin in open session. While that vote is not a violation, Lindberg said the board deprived the public the opportunity to decide whether to be present for any additional open session business before it.
Additionally, the notice of the meeting, particularly the reasoning for the executive session, was not “sufficiently specific” because it did not name Martin as the subject of the meeting. Since both Martin and her attorney were invited to the meeting, Lindberg writes revealing her as the subject matter would not have compromised the position of the board.
However, Lindberg disagreed with Martin that the executive session notice should have included her termination as a possible topic, and that the board deliberated outside of a public meeting. Both cases were close calls, Lindberg said. Select Board chair at the time, Mark Bail, requested a discussion of Martin’s employment with fellow Select Board member Dave Labonte. He also told Martin he intended on voting for her termination 48 hours before the meeting.
However, the Attorney General’s Office found no substantial evidence of deliberation outside of a meeting, noting that the board centered most of its discussions around Martin’s contract and probationary period before deciding to fire her.
Clifford called the decision around the meeting notice “more than a little disappointing and candidly shocking.”
“They basically said no big deal, which is contrary to my understanding and application of the Open Meeting Law for 30 years,” he said.
Aponte and Bail declined comment.
The Dec. 1 meeting
With the executive session meeting minutes in hand, Martin in May filed a second complaint, authored by Clifford, asserting the Select Board did not abide by Open Meeting Law.
In that complaint, Clifford argues the minutes did not include his comments around the improper posting of the executive session and the legality of firing Martin without cause.
Clifford did not witness comments around Martin’s performance during the meeting, nor are employee performance comments allowed in executive session.
Granby Town Council Attorney Jack Collins allegedly recorded the executive session to draft accurate minutes, according to Clifford. Clifford is asking the AG’s Office to release the recording as evidence.
Aponte wrote in a response to Martin’s complaint that the town has no knowledge of this recording, nor do boards record executive sessions.
As remedy for the alleged violation, Clifford is requesting that state investigators require the Select Board to reconsider its dismissal of Martin. The state declined a similar request in its decision on the first complaint Martin filed, ruling that Martin and her attorney were invited to the meeting and engaged in “exhausted” settlement negotiations.
Martin was offered $150,000, about half of her contract, as terms for ending her employment, according to the executive session meeting minutes.
Aponte took over the Town Administrator job in June. He has been training alongside the former interim Town Administrator Kevin O’Grady for the last two months.
