Disregard for the Process
First, I’d like to take a moment to thank Joe MacDougald for his many years of service, lending his time and expertise to the town on the Planning & Zoning Commission, which he chaired, on the Board of Selectmen, and on the Board of Finance, which he also chaired.
Next, I’d like to make a plea to the Board of Education to push ahead with a strong facilities plan for the schools. Sixteen years ago, we compromised on our high school, shoe-horned it onto the middle school campus, and made do with a noise-atorium [cafeteria/auditorium], at a savings it will be hard to measure over the generations we will live with that school. We should take the long view in facilities planning.
Finally, I’ll repeat a message sent twice before: First Selectman Tom Banisch must desist from committing the town to expenditures without prior approval through appropriate process. As with the $400,000 road paving blunder and ongoing baseball field debacle, the first selectman acted alone in signing off on spending at Strong Field. While the expense may be necessary, the point is that there is a process—cumbersome by design—that the first selectman once again neglected to follow before spending the taxpayers’ money. The Capital Improvement Program Committee and Board of Finance have tried to rein in this behavior, but to no avail. If expenditures are worthy, they will stand up to the scrutiny the budget process requires and be approved in an appropriate way.
It was one thing when he first took office, and unfortunate when it happened a second time, but his continued disregard for the process after nearly two years in office is inexcusable. One can only hope that in his second term the first selectman will learn to play by the rules.
Bill Gladstone
Madison