Unresponsiveness
Jun 8, 2010 – Over the past 6 weeks, we've all heard about the "Minority of the Majority", and those with "Special Interests", who were at Town Meeting. Frankly, I think that those phrases are insulting! The simple fact is that all of the warrant articles presented to the taxpayers of New Gloucester by the Board of Selectmen were passed by a majority of the voters present! That is how a democracy works. To hear members of the Board of Selectmen dismiss the voters who were at Town Meeting by calling them the "Minority", or saying that they had "Special Interests", is inflammatory, frustrating and demeaning!
If it was a "Minority of the Majority" & those with "Special Interests" who made their desires known at Town Meeting, who was it who also voted to have an Assistant Town Planner? This, a position that brings in no income to the town coffers and was unfilled at the time of Town Meeting. Who was it who voted to hire a part time Parks & Recreation Director, even though the monies to pay for this position were not stated in the proposed budget? It was the "Minority" and those with "Special Interests" who placed these 2 line items before the voters in the first place!
The 2 warrant articles that did not receive funding, did, in fact, pass at Town Meeting. It was just that the voters decided to vote them at $0 because we disagreed with the Selectmen about them. The Selectmen do not decide the budget for the town. That is the role of the taxpayers. The Selectmen develop the budget, with the help of the Town Manager, Department Heads (although not this year!), the CIP Committee and the Budget Committee. These people develop the budget and present it to the taxpayers at Town Meeting, where it is voted on. This is exactly what happened at the Town Meeting on May 3rd.
The way I see it is that all this "divisiveness", as Pamela Slye described at Monday night's Selectmen's meeting, could have been avoided if only the Selectmen had respected the wishes of the voters way back in March. It was at public meetings about the proposed budget at that time when they were asked to present the Assessors Agent's line item as a separate warrant article and phrased in such a way that would give the voters of New Gloucester the choice at Town Meeting to discuss and vote either to fully fund this position or to outsource it. The Selectmen didn't even respond to these requests at the time, and yet, now, they are going to do EXACTLY that at the Special Town Meeting on June 21st.
What has changed? I'll tell you what's changed. By law, the Selectmen have to follow the will of the electorate! The voters told the Selectmen at Town Meeting that they wanted a fully funded position and that is what they MUST now present to the voters. At the same time, the voters are also going to be told that the Board of Selectmen and the Budget Committee don't recommend that.
Why didn't the Board of Selectmen do as was asked of them for the first Town Meeting? If they had, this issue would have been settled that night and we wouldn't be where we are now! I'll tell you why. It's because the "Special Interests" of this Board of Selectmen was to do away with a fully funded Assessors Agent position and they want to force their "Minority" opinion on the town!
What I find frustrating is that if you do not agree with this Board, they are not interested in listening to you, much less working with you! If you do not subscribe to their "Special Interests", you are excluded from the process. They're not interested in creating an inclusive environment with the taxpayers of this town. To them, it's either their way or no way.
A few weeks ago, Nat Berry asked the taxpayers to "trust the Board of Selectmen to do the right thing". I responded to this with an email to all 5 of them, asking them why I should trust them. What have they done to earn my trust? I included my phone number in the email, imploring them to call me. To date, Mark Leighton has been the only one to talk to me. Yet, at Monday night's meeting, Pamela Slye stated that she's made 1200 phone calls in the last 6 weeks to talk to citizens about the issues in town. I didn't get a call from her! I made a direct appeal to her asking her to call me and nothing! Why? Nat Berry also stated that he's communicated with lots of people ever since he made those remarks, and yet his only communication to me has been that he "hasn't forgotten about me and he still wants to talk with me". I'm a citizen here in town. They were elected to work for all the citizens in town, not just those who agree with their views. And you know what? If they would just talk to me, they may find out that our differences are not so great that we can't overcome them and work together.
Steve Libby told me at Monday's meeting that he has communicated with me since my email. What a bald faced lie! His only communication to me has been a rebuttal to my first editorial many, many weeks ago. Why can't we even have honesty from our Chair of Selectmen? Linda Chase, as usual, didn't say a thing.
I am very frustrated with this Board! I try to communicate with them respectfully. Yes, I have raised my voice at public meetings, but it's out of frustration. Members of the Board of Selectmen have also raised their voices at meetings in defense of their positions. I don't feel as if I've been treated respectfully. They may listen to me at public meetings, but I don't feel as if they're trying to hear what I'm saying. Communication is a 2 way street, as Nat Berry told me at Monday night's meeting! Certainly they have seen all my editorials in this and other papers over the past months and yet, the only response I get from them is to be ignored and dismissed. You're darn right I'm frustrated! As a citizen in this town, what more do I have to do to get some reasonable responses from the members of our Board of Selectmen? Grovel at their feet?
How sad that the Selectmen choose to create an atmosphere of exclusion instead one of inclusion. Just imagine how much could get done in this town of ours if people felt welcomed for their efforts and input! I wish that I did.
Sean Chayer
New Gloucester
