Gravity, Is It Weighing You Down?

It is the dawn of a new work week. I should probably say the standard work week in deference to today's reality and to be more PC.  Another fun filled five days for one and all (the majority anyway).

Another newspaper piece on the Fin Com.  Today there is a brief article in The Standard Times.

While certainly one can paint the opinions and statements expressed as concerns of Finance Committee members, speaking solely as one member of the same, my actual concerns are as a resident of the Town of Fairhaven.

Whatever ever decision that is made by Town Meeting will be the determination of that body as to how it wishes to formulate the Town's Fin Com.  Whether the current method of appointment is actually "scratched" will be also be determined by the legislative body for the Town, not by fiat.

One can propose however it will be Town Meeting that decides.  

Let us not forget that really important piece of the puzzle. 

Let us also not forget that whether you can find the right piece to fit into the appropriate slot depends on the ability to see the subtle contours of the edges of not only the pieces in place, but the one you want to set.  

The bigger the puzzle the more minute the differences.  Force just one wrong piece into place and you destroy the entire landscape.  

One should never be ready to scrape anything until one is sure it is no longer needed and one has secured a replacement for the scrapped item.

The most interesting question that someone has asked me to date has been if the number and make-up of the committee had to be changed, how would you do it?  I actually have a thought or two on the matter. 

I am not going to share it.  No, I am not being a tease here.  

What I am going to do is wait and see just whether the Board of Selectmen are capable of getting the job done. 

Several people have commented that they feel everything should wait for a charter commission.  Be it a charter commission or a town meeting authorized and appointed town government study committee, there absolutely should be something formed along those lines to get into the nitty gritty aspects.  

I don't see a per se need to wait on the town manager matter, or even the several other articles that are being proposed, including fin com.  What will determine whether anything gets passed at Town Meeting though is going to be the ability of the Board of Selectmen to not only come up with a valid and justifiable proposal, but to sell it to Town Meeting.

As one observer has put it to me, they don't see it happening because the matters are beyond the scope and ability of the board's current pay scale.  

My personal opinion is that it can be done.  There is no reason it can't be done, except one.  

Let's face it, the present board doesn't play well together.

There in lies the biggest impediment to change, the ability to get along.  It is not just a specific board problem either. 

I am not talking about hunky dory, pass the talking stick, unifying discussions on everything either.

I am talking about an ability to get past purely personal preferences, and work to viable solutions.  

I am consistently baffled by the lack of trust and communication that I see in our Town.  The constant attempts at gamesmanship.  The need to extract information.  

Just who is at fault for the fact that there are no capital plans, updated job descriptions, department goals and objectives (for most, not all), employee performance standards and reviews, policy manuals, budget policy or process, and just about every DOR recommendation except the first 5?

Given the structure of town government one can certainly understand the reasoning behind such things not existing town wide, at least most of them.  Within the various silos dotting the linear landscape however, what is the excuse?

Part of the responsibility and accountability for any position is dealing with the limitations imposed.  Either find a way to deal with them within the structure that exists or do something about it.  Yes we are now beginning to deal with things, and address problems.  Why did it take the DOR report for so many of these matters?

To date, the excuses as to the why are more than just a bit hollow.  

True change, legitimate and effective change is only going to come if those charged with making the proposals can abandon the linear view.  

It is also going to involve some very serious work to build bridges, some which have never existed and some which have been burned over and over again.  I am sorry, but I don't buy into the divide and conquer strategy. Neither can I fathom  the benefit of using a general setting and discussion to go after individuals, be it against them or for them.

Some of you reading this understand very precisely of what I speak.  

Enough for the moment ...

To those matters that will require special legislation, the same best contain either of the following:

 "to the end that legislation be adopted precisely as follows, except for clerical or editorial changes of form only"

or

"Voted, to petition the General Court to the end that legislation be adopted precisely as follows. The General Court may make clerical or editorial changes of form only to the bill, unless Town Meeting approve amendments to the bill before enactment by the General Court. "

I am not 100% sure that the legislature will allow the second in the form as stated.  Usually the wording has "Selectmen" in place of "Town Meeting".  If it is determined you can't do the second, than we will have to go with the first is all.

Sorry, but if the legislature makes changes, I want town meeting, and only town meeting deciding if the amendments are acceptable.

If you don't have the limiting language, what goes up may not be what comes down.  

Only in government does one get to defy the laws of gravity.

And that is enough for today.  Be safe.