Plymouth County Treasurer Thomas O’Brien filed a lawsuit in Plymouth Superior Court challenging the hiring of County Administrator Troy Clarkson, escalating a dispute over the Plymouth County Commission’s decision to pay Clarkson more than $215,000 in total compensation after advertising the position for $100,000 to $124,000, commensurate with experience.
“I have a fiduciary responsibility to the county. I believe that this action by a majority of the commissioners, not a unanimous majority, but a majority was fiscally irresponsible,” O’Brien said. “And my only recourse was to notify them of that, which I did. And after I didn't receive any response from them I had to take the matter to court.”
The lawsuit came one day before a raucous meeting of the Plymouth County Advisory Board, where municipal representatives pressed commissioners over how Clarkson’s salary was increased and why the board was not consulted before changes were made to a spending plan it had already approved.
The dispute centers on the commissioners’ decision to hire Clarkson with total compensation exceeding $215,000 and a three-year contract that requires a unanimous vote for dismissal, allowed under only narrow purposes. Previous people holding the role had been at-will employees. O’Brien told board members Thursday that after commissioners decided to pay more than the advertised range, the assistant administrator position was eliminated, freeing money that could be used toward the higher salary.
That $61,000 increase drew sharp criticism from Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett, chair of the Hanson Selectboard and a member of the Plymouth County Advisory Board.
“Increasing the salary by sixty-one thousand dollars after the hiring process and after our vote fundamentally changed the recruitment and the fiscal plan we adopted,” said Laura Fitzgerald-Kemmett, Chair of the Hanson Selectboard and a member of the Plymouth County Advisory Board in a letter. “Actions like these do more than undermine our statutory authority. They erode the public’s trust and continued support for county government.”
Advisory Board Chairman Mark Townsend told members he had asked Commissioner Chair Sandra Wright to hold off on changes to the salary structure until the board had an opportunity to meet. The commissioners moved forward anyway, prompting requests for Thursday’s special meeting. Wright, who recently lost her bid for re-election, has publicly described Clarkson as "a very good friend."
Wright and Commissioner Greg Hanley frequently interjected, forcing Townsend to repeatedly steer the meeting back toward the budget questions before the board.
Wright, in particular, repeatedly sought to defer questions to county commission attorney Shannon Resnick rather than answer them herself. When board members asked why commissioners had not returned to the Advisory Board before making the changes, Wright said they had followed Resnick’s legal advice. Townsend responded that the question was for the commissioners, not their attorney, and reminded Wright that he had twice asked for an opportunity to convene the Advisory Board before the changes were made.
A similar exchange unfolded when members questioned the elimination of the assistant administrator position. Wright again urged the board to hear from Resnick, saying the attorney knew how commissioners had been advised. Townsend pressed Wright and the other commissioners to answer the questions themselves.
During the meeting, Hanley described the proceedings to a South Shore Times reporter as a “kangaroo court” and urged the reporter to speak with Resnick. When approached, Resnick refused to answer questions. Commissioner Wright then physically interjected herself, blocking the reporter as Resnick left the room.
During the meeting, Resnick did answer a limited question from Townsend about Clarkson’s employment agreement. She confirmed that it had been signed following a majority vote of the commissioners, but declined to say whether she considered it legally binding because O’Brien had filed suit challenging it.
Wright and Hanley have maintained that commissioners relied on Resnick's legal advice in moving forward with the hiring. In addition to her work with Plymouth County, Resnick also serves as a legal counsel for the City of Brockton, Clarkson’s previous employer. Resnick was negotiating with Clarkson while he held the chief financial officer position for the city.
Commissioner Jared Valanzola, who opposed the Clarkson agreement, offered a different account of the options available to the board. He said commissioners had been advised that they could eliminate a position to free up money or return to the Advisory Board for an additional appropriation. Valanzola said his colleagues did not want to seek the additional money because they did not believe the board would approve the higher salary.
O’Brien similarly told the Advisory Board that returning for additional funding had been the appropriate course. He said the fiscal 2027 budget approved by the Advisory Board included funding for a county administrator, assistant administrator and an administrator-in-training.
When commissioners decided to pay the new administrator more than the advertised salary range, O’Brien said, eliminating the assistant administrator position provided the additional money without seeking a new appropriation.
“My advice has always been that this is the wrong way to go from the very beginning,” O’Brien said.
The Advisory Board responded Thursday by approving budget transfers totaling $211,500, effectively pulling money from administrator-related payroll and funding reserved for potential regional services and redirecting it toward legal expenses.
O’Brien said the transfers remove $61,060 from the vacant assistant administrator position, $440 from another administrative line and $150,000 from a professional services account intended for potential regional services. The money would instead go toward legal services and possible settlements or court awards, including legal funding for the treasurer’s office, commissioners and Advisory Board.
“We’re essentially taking $211,500 and putting it into legal,” O’Brien said.
The transfer passed unanimously among Advisory Board members present.
The board then unanimously authorized its executive committee to procure and contract for its own legal counsel, something Townsend said the Advisory Board had not previously needed. Townsend acknowledged that paying for attorneys would divert money from other potential county priorities, but said independent legal advice had become necessary.
In a letter, Resnick disputed whether the Advisory Board had the authority to take either action.
“The Advisory Board does not have the authority to take action on the proposed vote. There is no power conferred on the Advisory Board under these circumstances,” Resnick wrote in a letter to the board.
Wright raised the same objection during the meeting, arguing that the Advisory Board and O’Brien did not have authority to transfer the money and that transfers must go through the three commissioners. She said this decision was also likely to end up in a legal dispute.
Brockton City Councilor Susan Nicastro, who did not attend Thursday’s meeting but submitted an opinion letter, was the lone dissenting voice on the Advisory Board.
Nicastro said seeking outside legal counsel was “Outside the statutory jurisdiction of an Advisory Board. As a result, I believe the Advisory Committee should take no action at this time.”
Resnick has also served as legal counsel to the Brockton City Council.
Despite those objections, the Advisory Board proceeded with both votes, adding another potential legal dispute over county spending authority to a controversy that is now formally before Plymouth Superior Court.
The case could ultimately determine whether commissioners had the authority to commit the county to Clarkson’s $185,000 salary without returning to the Advisory Board and whether O’Brien can be required to make payments under the agreement.