Recently, in New Gloucester, there has been discussion of the committee appointment process and how to improve it. The Board of Selectmen will be reviewing the process soon.

If elected leaders of the town truly want to encourage more people to be involved and serve, as they have said many times, they must create a transparent appointment policy.

There should be an accepted policy that board members will recuse themselves from selecting applicants if there is any conflict, be it family- or business-related.

A quick look at who has served on town committees through the years shows that there have been numerous occasions where the issue has popped up and never has a selectman stepped back from the appointment process.

As it currently stands, there seem to be no term limits for being on an appointed committee, nor for being chair of such a committee. This can lead to “fiefdoms,” where leadership is assumed and the appearance is that new members are not welcomed.

The selectmen should also consider how and when seats become vacant and are filled. A recent issue before the Planning Board saw a seat on that committee filled with virtually no public notice of the vacancy.

If we want to encourage people to join and serve, we should have a clear policy for attendance so we can open up seats.

We are fortunate to have had dedicated citizens serve this town so well, but we need to make it known that others are welcome, too.

Christopher Rheault,

New Gloucester