A while ago, the highly partisan commissioners of Oxford County tried to change the position of treasurer from an elected position, accountable to the taxpayers, to an appointed position, accountable only to them.

Maybe the exchange of letters about the governor’s proposed decentralization of the Land Use Regulation Commission between the elected treasurer, Roy Gedat, and Commissioner Caldwell Jackson justifies rejecting that plan.

A treasurer accountable to the people is more likely, as Mr. Gedat has been, to point out defects in proposals that are not in the interest of county taxpayers.

Creating up to 13 planning boards and permitting processes to replace one would increase costs, complexity and taxes. Would we be aware of any of this with an appointed treasurer?

Even a Republican Legislature found the proposal unacceptable, but not county commissioners.

Think of the complexities of a project, if it involved three or more counties with individual permitting procedures and standards; the added expense for the requester and the counties; and the extra time involved, unless the counties simply expected to rubber stamp any project without any procedures or standards.

We defeated the county commissioners’ plan, and every day Gedat proves the wisdom of our choice.

Jonathan Albrecht, Dixfield