WOONSOCKET, R.I. (WPRI) — The Woonsocket City Council on Monday canceled a regularly scheduled meeting after a 43-page document containing highly sensitive information about some residents was included as part of the publicly available agenda.

Woonsocket human resources director Michael Houle submitted the information as part of a report detailing his daily activities on the job. But the report wasn’t modified or redacted in any way to protect personal information of many constituents he interacted with on a day-to-day basis.

The information included a litany of sensitive details, including people’s Social Security numbers, cellphone numbers and addresses and even medical and living conditions. The information was published on the city’s website Friday and wasn’t removed until over the weekend.

Woonsocket Mayor Christopher Beauchamp said the submission was a “total mistake,” but he said he wasn’t happy about it. Asked about the future employment of Houle, who’s a part-time worker, Beauchamp said, “I don’t think his tenure is going to be long.”

“I’m not going to ask him to leave,” Beauchamp told Target 12 on Monday. “I think he’ll be leaving voluntarily.”

Houle, who is on vacation this week, sent a letter to the Beauchamp that he shared with Target 12 on Monday night, saying the contents of the document “were not intended to be made public or intended to be part of the City Council docket.” Houle said Councilman Garrett Mancieri had requested his activity report and he left the document with the city clerk’s office.

He said the report was addressed to the councilman and not the entire City Council.

“As an elected official of the city of Woonsocket, Councilman Mancieri was entitled to complete and unredacted information, and only Councilman Mancieri,” he wrote. “Additionally, no communications or request were made to the city clerk’s office to place the documents on the city agenda.”

“Unfortunately, the documents were posted without my knowledge and publicly distributed,” he added. “More concerning is why the documents were never forwarded to the city solicitor office as required by city charger and would have prevented this error.”

Houle was hired by former Mayor Lisa Baldelli-Hunt and has been serving as the city’s part-time human services director since 2023.

“I’m concerned about people’s information,” Beauchamp said. “They could sue us and I don’t blame them.”

The information was removed from the websites of the city and the R.I. Secretary of State’s Office, but not before the 43-page document was shared widely among community members. A website dubbed The Coalition Talk Radio Network, which describes itself as a “civilly disobedient media,” published the entire document online over the weekend.

Because the agenda was modified over the weekend, the council scrapped its meeting scheduled for Monday because the altered agenda hadn’t been posted for at least 48 hours ahead of the start of the meeting, as is required by state law.

Woonsocket City Council President John Ward, who’s running against Beauchamp for mayor this fall, said he was both “embarrassed and outraged that we were put into this position.”

“The report had no business being put on an agenda,” Ward said Monday. “It’s extremely frustrating that such an amateur move was made by the human services director as to disclose clearly confidential information. Even if it was intended for the eyes of the council only, the council has no business seeing that information.”

Houle, a retired police officer who also serves on the city’s housing authority, included details of his daily interactions with constituents. In some instances, the information was relatively mundane, such as checking up on elderly residents and making sure people had access to city services.

In other instances, he included the names and personal information of people experiencing homelessness and domestic violence issues. In one entry, he included the name and number of a person who reported illegal drugs being sold at a homeless shelter.

“I don’t believe he should be working for the city or the housing authority because he’s put them both at risk in a very sensitive way,” Ward said. “I think he may have also compromised our relationship social service agencies as to whether we’re properly protecting the people we’re supposed to be serving.”

The council meeting has been rescheduled for July 22, according to Ward. A special meeting is expected to be held Wednesday.

“As unfortunate and disappointing as that may be, I hope this incident does not overshadow the good work and intentions of the Woonsocket Human Services Department,” Houle wrote to the mayor.

Eli Sherman ( esherman@wpri.com ) is a Target 12 investigative reporter for 12 News. Connect with him on Twitter and on Facebook .

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