Aldermen took no action this week on a complaint from a Manchester resident claiming Alderman Crissy Kantor entered the Beech Street homeless shelter and took a binder containing names and bed numbers of shelter guests — but several had questions about the board’s lack of access to such information.
Rosanna McMahon emailed Mayor Joyce Craig and members of the Board of Mayor and Aldermen asking members to refer her complaint to the city’s Conduct Board, saying Kantor’s alleged actions violate the trust of individuals seeking assistance at the shelter and disregard the “fundamental rights of privacy” guaranteed under the New Hampshire state constitution.
Aldermen recently asked City Solicitor Emily Rice for an opinion on whether a member of the board could have access to the “daily logs” created and maintained by the city-funded Beech Street shelter.
The daily logs, kept in a binder, contain the first and last name of the person assigned to each of the beds, which are numbered.
Rice said she believes granting such a request would violate the right to privacy contained in Part I, Article 2-b of the New Hampshire Constitution.
Rice believes the daily logs are not subject to disclosure under the state’s Right to Know law because they do not appear to meet the definition of a governmental record.
Alderman Pat Long said he doesn’t agree with that opinion.
“This is the first time I‘m hearing that it would be confidential to the aldermen,” Long said. “The information, if we were to receive it, would be confidential, but how is it confidential to us? How do we measure accountability? I question the fact that some of this is confidential to the aldermen.”
Alderman Bill Barry said he wasn’t looking for the names of individuals at the shelter, he just wants to keep track of their length of stay.
“Shelters should be temporary, if they’re permanent, then we lose,” Barry said.
“How do we track what’s going on there, whether the folks that go there are becoming independent, finding gainful employment, avoiding incarceration?”asked Alderman Ed Sapienza.
Adrienne Beloin, Manchester’s director of housing stability, said she is working to develop a “more sophisticated” data collection system.
“Length of stay data is something that can be shared without providing the person’s information,” Beloin said.
Alderman Joe Kelly Levasseur quizzed Beloin, questioning the solicitor’s opinion which he feels is “broad.”
“Why can we not see the same information that you see as an employee of the city?” Levasseur asked.
“It’s protected information, when it’s something like somebody’s name in combination with something like their Social Security number, or somebody’s name in combination with something like their date of birth,” Beloin answered.
“A signup sheet doesn’t include Social Security numbers, does it?” Levasseur asked.
“It includes their date of birth,” Beloin said.
Alderman June Trisciani backed the solicitor’s opinion. “Names, addresses, personal information of people is not our purview,” Trisciani said. “Our purview is the data and what resources are being used and how we’re helping people. This is information that should not be shared.”
In her complaint, McMahon asked aldermen to initiate a Conduct Board review into Kantor’s alleged actions, censure the Ward 6 alderman to send “a clear message that such breaches of trust will not be tolerated within our community,” and ensure compliance with privacy laws.
Aldermen took no action on the complaint this week.
