What happens at a public meeting stays public - as in do not say anything you do not wish repeated.
That is the opinion of this simple appointed volunteer. You see, I am not elected like our honorable selectmen - the superior ones, as they so declared and that declaration was backed up by people such as the town administrator (interim) and the town accountant.
So did a member of the superior board step in it? Perhaps, but what is said at an open public meeting, well, it stays public, no going back and erasing it. That is why they are called open and public and that is why a record of sorts is required. Perhaps a lesson here is when a superior board tries to ignore, push aside, or manage another group, it may not always end well or go smoothly. Sheep can be marginalized, but when you invite someone to a get together and then basically tell them to sit in their like window dressing just so you can possibly say, hey, were working together, we are on the same page when in fact you are not even reading the same book, well, expect a little heat.
I looked up in the Templeton Annual Town report and on the Town website and other places, including a few past newspaper articles and what I found was this:
Templeton Town Treasurer/Collector listed as Kate Meyers and the Assistant Templeton Town Treasurer/Collector listed as Carol Lee Eaton, so if anyone says for instance, "the Templeton Town Treasurer/Collector or the treasurer/collector" just who do you suppose would they be talking about?
At the end of the day, a public meeting is public and open and what is said there is public and it will not be erased here, as was asked of me. I am just a simple guy in Templeton who heard something and I let people know. I am not one of the exalted elected ones from the superior board. Have I previously served as a selectmen? Yes I have, but that is in the past and I have heard the superior ones state many times, including at the most recent Templeton Town Meeting, that the past is in the past and we are looking/moving forward. So please do not try to tell me this or that or you know because you were a selectmen etc. That is in the past and ya'll do not deal in the past.
Speaking of Town Meeting, I have to get that dvd and see if there was actually a vote to dissolve the meeting because I believe I heard a motion but not an actual vote. Now that would be something.
posted by Jeff Bennett
It does seem odd to me, that someone can go into the service to protect the freedom of speech, but return to try to repress that freedom. What is wrong with this picture ? Our towns' people should not be kept in the dark, as they are the people who pay the bills. People on the Advisory Committee have a job to do, and to the best of my knowledge, have done their job. If the BOS did not handle a sensitive matter correctly, then it is on them. If this sensitive matter costs the taxpayer a small or large fortune, then the people in this town have the right to know it. In a small community there is no such thing as a secret. It is up to our elected officials to check with Town Council before they make stupid moves. That would prevent a lot of this negative behavior. How long and how much is it going to cost us until our BOS members smarten up ? Bev.
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