Winthrop Disability Commission Elects Secretary, Flags State Procurement Barrier at Deer Island Event

Other Committee · Meeting of June 10, 2026

Winthrop's Commission on Disability elected Hannah Belcher secretary and confronted a state procurement barrier that left one member paying a $2,000 radio advertising bill out of pocket. Commission member John Morgan paid the bill to WMEX radio after the station refused to provide promotional services for the commission's August 29 Deer Island accessibility event — budgeted at roughly $13,000 in 22G state disability funds — without full payment in advance. Town Council liaison Joe Romano, attending with fellow liaison Pat Costigan, confirmed the prohibition is rooted in Massachusetts General Law and applies regardless of town preference: "There is no ability to prepay — mass general law essentially prohibits prepayment except for statutorily defined exceptions, of which none of these qualify." The commission agreed to route all future vendor contracts through Town Manager Tony Marino.

Of 200 printed community resource books, only 35 remain in the Town Clerk's office. The commission will skip its July meeting and next convenes August 12 at 6 p.m.

In the full story:

• Who Was There
• Organizations And Documents Referenced
• The complete report — 2,536 words

Source: the Other Committee meeting of June 10, 2026, reported from the official video recording and transcript.