If You Were On the Ship, You Can’t Pretend You Didn’t Help Steer It

Let’s set aside the PR posts, the emotional buffering, the polished paragraphs that sound more like a ChatGPT draft than a real person under public scrutiny. Let’s deal in what’s actually true.

Mayor Sabrina Hazen says she “felt blindsided” when she took office, blindsided by the financial state of the City of Falmouth. She now claims that the council, of which she was a member, “fixed the error” by amending the budget, and that she later improved transparency by outsourcing accounting and switching software.

But let’s pause.

Because here’s the inescapable truth:

She was on City Council when all of this happened.

And that means there are only three possibilities. Not opinions. Just logic.

1. She Knew

She had access to the same budget packets, financial statements, and monthly reports as every other council member. She voted on the same budgets. If the numbers didn’t align, she was supposed to ask questions. If the problem was big enough to require an amendment, the public should have heard about it then, not now.

If she knew and didn’t raise the flag loudly and clearly at the time, then she helped create or conceal the problem. That’s not slander. That’s accountability.

2. She Didn’t Know

If she genuinely didn’t understand what she was reading, then she failed her oversight duty as a council member. That’s not personal. That’s what a council seat is. Review, vote, protect the public’s trust.

A budget mismatch isn’t a typo. It’s a flashing red light. Missing it would mean she was asleep at the wheel during one of the most critical jobs a local official has — financial oversight.

3. She’s Rewriting History

If she did know but now claims she didn’t, then we’re venturing into a more serious conversation. One that starts with soft spin and ends with public betrayal. Either way, her current narrative does not hold water.

You can’t say “I was blindsided” and “if you attended the meetings, you’d know” in the same breath, especially when you were one of the people in the meetings.

The Missing Receipts

She keeps repeating that council “amended the budget” to correct the issues.

Okay. Let’s see it.

Which fiscal year?

Which meeting date?

Which ordinance or resolution?

What amounts were changed?

What were the FEMA-related expenditures that required waiting?

What’s the FEMA claim ID? The reimbursement timeline?

Those answers should be easy if this isn’t just a carefully rehearsed PR play.

It’s all polish. No pages. You want real transparency?

You’re the mayor. STOP DENYING MY RECORDS REQUESTS.

I haven’t sent any in a while, but I am more than happy to again.

Let’s make a wager. I will prepare a records request for everything below and more. I won’t put it all in one. I’ll make them separate.

If you really are about transparency, that is a good start.

• The actual budget amendments

• The FEMA expenditures and reimbursement filings

• The line item breakdown of police and fire costs

• The vendor contract for “outsourced accounting”

Until then, this is narrative. Not truth.

And if you helped steer the ship, you don’t get to pretend you were just along for the ride.

Whisper One Out