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Where’s the Transparency?

The Feb. 24 meeting of the Board of Selectmen, which I attended, is intriguing for so many reasons.

The majority of the Board of Selectmen motioned to open the agenda to specify a date (in October, no less) for the referendum for Academy School and the school building projects rather than have it as a regular agenda item in advance. Opening the agenda was a crafty way to slide the October referendum date past the majority of the public.

The interesting part is that most of the audience in attendance knew in advance that the agenda was going to be opened and showed up to speak in support of it. Where’s the transparency when only a select few are entitled to be in the know?

Does anyone realize that adding an additional election costs the town about $6,000? In a year when we will already have at least three other elections (presidential primaries in April, budget referendum in May, and presidential election in November) it would seem we could get more voters at any one of the other elections than a special one at a time when no one would be expecting it.

Or is having fewer voters the purpose of the October referendum?

Arthur Symonds

Madison