...in decisions made July 26th at the Special Town Meeting, 7 pm, Paris fire station. Evidently the board will hold its regularly scheduled meeting afterwards. Late night...
Our selectboard is certainly capable of making decisions without us, decisions that direct the management of this town; they are, after all, tax payers themselves. However, their decisions direct the use of our money, as well; and they direct the operation of this municipal machine in our behalf. Since the only time we have any real influence is when we speak up at town meetings and vote - be it by referendum or open vote - we need to be there on the 26th.
After electing a moderator, there are 4 items on the warrant. Two items focus on portions of Paris' legislative process, and two involve the use of our municipal funds.
[editor's note: TPR has paraphrased the actual wording of the articles below.]
Article 2: to enact an ordinance for a moratorium on any plans for a medical marijuana dispensary in Paris. Both The Sun Journal and the Advertiser Democrat have given press space to the issue; and the public hearing held before the regularly scheduled selectboard meeting 7-12-10 was intended as an opportunity to ask questions. However: questions should be entertained at any point the public needs information, and if an individual has a question (as opposed to an old, over-used gripe....) this is an opportunity.
Article 3: to ask voters to authorize money to be made available from the appropriate fund in the town's coffers to pay former town manager Sharon Jackson the out-of-court settlement that was arrived at on June 24th.
There have been some good efforts recently to make a complete accounting so that citizens can come to grips with the extent of the damage caused by the impulsive personal decision of 3 selfish individuals.
This community does have to heal and move on; but questions have never been met comfortably - never encouraged - by the selectboard. Or, worse, one individual at the front table has taken the floor and talked unceasingly while the real question went unanswered.
One particdular selectman, along with some others, had been adamant that "she should not receive one more nickel from us." Somehow, this selectman has been able to ignore the fact that a settlement agreement was, nevertheless, arrived at; and, with that settlement, the indication that the town didn't have a choice - because the premise of the law suit was viable, and the town's position would not likely have withstood court scrutiny. This particular selectman is choosing to down play the whole affair by forging his own personal interpretation and accounting of the whole affair, apparently in the hopes of ...what? diverting attention to his interpretation? Why?
We - without the ill-advised counsel of any individual who tries to insist he knows what's best for all of us - must move on, using our own energy and coming to our own understanding . We need to be straight forward and courageous, and get on with it.
If there are questions, ask them. There are going to be people at this special town meeting with both questions and answers. But this has to be the end. Everybody, in this whole sorry mess, lost out. Many people dropped many balls, and many opportunities were missed. Some opportunities still exist, but it would take extraordinary courage for an individual to speak up at this point. Perhaps...?
Article 4, a proposal to pay for staffing the Paris Fire Department in such a way as to provide more thorough fire fighting coverage, and Article 5, the question, still, again, of the legislative body of this town setting the date when newly elected selectboard members are seated.
Both of these articles will be addressed in another TPR posting.
Paris voters need to educate themselves, and come on the 26th to be sure decisions are made that reflect our wishes. Tell your friends, bring a neighbor.
This is our town; we almost lost control of it once, and because we rallied, we got it back. But it can slip away from us so easily. All it takes is someone with a personal agenda... and then for enough people not to look...
