Bethel is talking, but what about?

There are some strange goings-on within Bethel town government. The police chief, Alan Carr, has had some action taken against him, the nature of which is unknown. The selectmen met twice behind closed doors — on the same day — to discuss it, but did nothing.

So whatever has happened to Carr is serious enough to warrant stoic silence and multiple meetings by the town's governors, but not serious enough to warrant action. Everybody's talking, it seems, yet nobody knows what they're saying.

This Kabuki in Bethel is, from our perspective, what happens when fears of litigation overrule sensible thinking. Officials seem to be walking on eggshells about Carr, his employment status and his appeal of whatever action has been taken against him, so they're neglecting their public duty.

Residents of Bethel — who are paying for all this government activity — deserve to know whether their community has an active, working chief of police. Today, they know who their chief is — it's still Carr, as far as anybody knows, although his desk has been cleared out — but whether he is active, working, has the trust of the selectmen or is still technically employed is a mystery.

Bethel officials should clear up Carr's status. We understand the vagaries of personnel law and the hesitancy of municipal governments to question them, lest a barrage of briefs ensue. Yet hiding behind an attorney's advice does not reassure public concern.

What's stranger is the manager in Bethel, Jim Doar, has a track record of transparency. In his previous posting in Rumford — which yes, ended badly — Doar was so devoted to ensuring his administration was open to the people that he started a daily blog called the Open Doar.

That blog, as so many, ended up as a forum for vitriolic, hateful and spiteful Internet-dwelling ignoramuses to spew half-baked opinions, so it was taken down. The principle behind it, however, was laudatory: a government official being clear, and straightforward, about goings-on in Town Hall.

Now it looks like the "Open Doar" is closed for good. What's happening in Bethel is anything but clear and straightforward; what's occurred with Carr is nebulous and opaque, worthy of attention by officials, but not disclosure. This makes the situation with Carr look like it's either grave, or minor. It can't be both.

So what is it? Given all the talk in Bethel, this is the least that should be said.

editorialboard@sunjournal.com