By Geena Monahan—For the North Star Reporter
Tensions erupted at the end of Monday night’s Town Council meeting after Councilor Mark Gould invoked his charter privilege on a measure to renew North TV’s contract as a public relations assistant for North Attleborough.
The funds would come from completed capital improvement projects. Invoking this charter privilege halted all discussion on the matter and moved the vote to the next Town Council meeting.
Before the meeting adjourned, Council President Justin Pare noted that the meeting had run for close to four hours and expressed dismay for Gould’s choice to wait to invoke his charter privilege until after North TV Executive Director Peter Gay and North Attleborough Communications and Information Officer Taylor O’Neil gave their presentation.
“Regarding the North TV measure, it would have been good to make that motion before they started talking,” said Pare. “You knew you were going to make that motion, and I think the councilors and people involved would have appreciated you making that motion before the presentation because that was 30 minutes, and we are already over (on time).”
Post-adjournment, an argument between council members in the Joann Cathcart Conference Room could be heard, with expletives being yelled and heated words exchanged.
After already receiving unanimous support from the Finance Subcommittee, Gay and O’Neil brought their report to the council, outlining how a collaboration with North TV has helped to produce 10 videos, 13 podcasts and eight meeting clips to date in 2025.
O’Neill noted that just on video production alone, there are over 5,000 hours of community members viewing the content.
“Prior to our agreement with North TV, if you were going to watch any video you were either a subscriber or came in person to attend the meetings,” said O’Neil. “With our contract, they removed the pay wall. That means anyone can watch any government meeting, either live-streamed or at the convenience of their time.”
Reached after the meeting, O’Neil explained that with this contract, North TV removed the paywall for the government channel. Residents were able to watch public meetings and anything else streamed on the North Attleborough government channel for free. Any other North TV channel, such as education or community, required residents to pay for access.
Gay went over the cost analysis, pointing out the financial benefit of a continued partnership with North TV instead of a private public relations firm, which he said would cost North Attleborough somewhere between $64,000 on the low end, but probably closer to $100,000.
“No one covers more meetings than North TV,” said Gay. “In this age of social media, the town has taken the proactive step of reaching people where they are. If you don’t produce your own content, then the naysayers, the trolls are going to create the impression.”
Regarding the measure itself, Gould brought up several concerns as to why he was not ready to vote on the proposal at present time.
“At first glance it may seem reasonable, but upon closer examination it raises serious ethical and financial questions,” said Gould. “The core issue is that we are using $50,000 of taxpayer money for what is essentially propaganda. We’re telling people what to think, and shaping public opinion.”
North Attleborough resident Richard Kieltyka voiced similar concerns, asking councilors why both a communications officer and public relations support from North TV are needed. Kieltyka also suggested that before approval, the council should obtain a written opinion from the Massachusetts Secretary of State’s office as well as the Internal Revenue Service to determine that this would not be a prohibited transaction under North TV’s 501(c)(3) status as a non-profit.
Town Council Vice President John Simmons followed Kieltyka’s speech, asking O’Neil to determine if she would own the meeting footage and does not cut and create video clips herself. Simmons noted that O’Neil does have various other tasks throughout the day, such as speaking one-on-one to citizens to help them navigate Town Hall.
“Not only for the town, but for the School Department, Fire Department and Police Department, that also goes outside of Town Hall hours,” O’Neill clarified.
When asked what he thought of Gould referring to the material that North TV helps produce as “propaganda,” Town Manager Michael Borg said he disagreed.
“It’s not propaganda. It’s information. We are unbiased and we are putting out facts,” said Borg.
Gay did not want to comment on Gould’s claims on behalf of North TV at this time.
