OTISFIELD – Each side in a sometimes tense, push-pull relationship between the Board of Selectmen and a private citizens group has misgivings about the other’s conduct, but they have one patch of common ground. Both claim they want a strong, responsive government in this growing lakeshore town of 1,600.
Last April, Voices of Otisfield held its first meeting. It was formed in response to what some members saw as shoddy practices by town officials and a belief that selectmen were sometimes dismissive of residents’ concerns.
The group meets monthly and encourages any Otisfield citizen to attend and express concerns about town government. There are no officers, only a moderator, a recording secretary and a steering committee.
Group members say they reach a consensus about whether an issue should be brought before the selectmen.
“We never were about trying to take over the town,” member Ethel Turner said recently. “It was about, How can we make town government more responsible?'”
Concerns heard now
But selectmen Chairman Mark Cyr said there already is a system in place for residents to voice concerns they have about town business.
“Individuals who come to us, we will give them 100 percent attention,” he said, adding that usually only three or four members of Voices attend selectmen meetings and they rarely attend other town committee meetings to gather information. “A huge concern on my part is what they are bringing back to people is their perception.”
But member Jean Hankins said most members of the group already belong to town committees. “We’re participating in town government to the best of our ability,” she said.
Cyr, became board chairman last March, had served on the board for one year prior to that. He said one of his goals is to improve overall communication in the town, pointing to current efforts to draft policies that ensure the town’s compliance with state laws governing freedom of information and board and committee conduct.
Jim Bishop, a Voices member, said communication in the town has been improving and lauded the board’s efforts, but added that some of those efforts may not have materialized if Voices had not formed.
Bishop served as chairman of the Comprehensive Plan Committee, which submitted a plan that was approved by taxpayers in March 2004 but only saw two of its eight recommendations implemented. “They (selectmen) didn’t feel the rest were necessary,” he said.
Get it in writing
Bishop said the town’s lack of written policies also has led to problems. For example, he said, taxpayers approved the establishment of a Finance Committee last March. But, in the absence of a committee-selection policy, selectmen essentially handpicked the committee following the town meeting, held on a Saturday. By Monday, a new committee was in place, even though it was generally understood that committees are selected after volunteers apply, Bishop said.
“We believe there is an absolute need for policies, procedures and good business practices,” he said.
Cyr, however, said no one was ever handpicked. “There were no contacts made by me, and I don’t believe anyone else did,” he said. “That wouldn’t be legal.” Cyr countered that nine people had volunteered for the committee by the selectmen’s meeting that followed the town meeting.
While Cyr agreed that certain written policies are needed, creating policies to cover every aspect of town government would be counterproductive, he said. “Trying to have a policy to cover everything in a community is impossible,” he said. “A town should be run as a business. Having a policy to cover everything would allow no freedom to make decisions.”
He also said selectmen are sometimes “blindsided” by Voices members when they attend meetings and submit requests, such as a recent one asking for all town expenditures to be itemized in annual town reports. That particular request should have initially been brought before the Finance Committee, he said.
Additionally, Cyr said requests should be submitted in advance of a meeting in writing so they can be reviewed by selectmen and be placed on the meeting’s agenda. “We want public input but we want it to be in a proper tone and constructive,” he said. “They (Voices) have some good ideas. But how you go about things makes all the difference in the world.”
Members of Voices say they strive to keep the tone of their group respectful and positive. “I know we are looked at as a pain in the neck,” Hankins said. “But at the same time, that seems to be what it takes.”
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