New town moderator makes costly mistake

PEMBROKE, Mass. -- A town moderator made a costly mistake at a recent meeting and now the town will have to pay.

As Pembroke Town Moderator Steve Dodge ran his first town meeting, he accidentally announced the wrong outcome of a vote approving a pay hike.

“The teller gave Steve a slip of paper that said article 23 -- four yes votes. Steve read the 23 number instead of the four number,” said Edwin Thorne, Pembroke Town Administrator.

The mistake allowed the proposal to give small pay raises to thirteen town employees to pass, when it was actually voted down.

The mistake was discovered a week later. Officials checked with the town attorney to see if it could be reversed.

He said that because the vote was announced in public and the meeting was over, the announcement stands.

The mistake will cost Pembroke $3,500 a year.

Dodge succeeds John Walsh who was the town moderator for 59 years. He had some advice for the new moderator.

“Don’t be afraid of a mistake,” Walsh said.

Dodge joked with 7News that if he keeps this up he will have gone from succeeding the town’s longest standing moderator, to serving the shortest term as moderator.

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