At the last selectmen meeting, there was a candidate for the Templeton Town Administrator position, back for a third time. None of the selectmen present left for conflict of interest reasons and the interview was recorded. There was also discussion concerning rolling over vacation time and the discussion centered around 8 individuals. Apparently 6 of those met some sort of policy requirement and two did not. During the discussion, some things posed by the selectmen and the town administrator were "they did this for us" and "we do not want to lose long time employees" and other things said as if to show concern for the town employees.
As I sat there, I wondered what happened to that care when it came to long time town employee Bud Chase, former highway superintendent. Did not seem there was much concern for his years of service, no matter where you stood with regards to thoughts on that employee. Where was the concern? Apparently that concern may be like the rules and such, some show but not much go, in my opinion.
There was mention of legal budget perhaps being short and needing a transfer, which will likely be in front of the Advisory Committee at their next meeting. There was a point made about legal costs, that there was no plan to have Town Counsel at Town Meeting until concerns of the Moderator were aired and then a candidate for employment may be filing suit against the Town.
Selectmen still making moves, moving funds around, doing this and that stating in an effort to reduce costs, all the while using a revenue number (dollar figure) that is unrealistic. If the school project begins this year, sometime, then in a year or two, perhaps three, we may see the need for some real financial creativity. Which may turn out to be a few more cups to move the pea around. Since policy and budget is the realm of the selectmen, that should be interesting.
posted by Jeff Bennett
We live in a small community. This has a up side, that is, everyone knows who plows the road they live on in the winter, and who to call if there is a problem. Bud was one of the people that the residents came to rely on. He had a lot of power, as to when you got your road plowed, or if something got fixed or not. To the best of my memory, Bud did the best job he could, seeing he had a variety of bosses while he was here. In my eyes, Bud got a bad deal from this town he worked so hard for. What ever some thought we would gain from giving this man, the bums rush, will come back to bite us down the road. When this town is run by a TA with no long term investment in our community, getting rid of one man is easy. In the long term, I am afraid many of the changes made for instant money, like getting rid of our Fire Chief, will backfire in the end. Next year, where will the money come from to fix the holes in the budget ? How many other people will we have to show the door ? The most pressing question is, what other communities would want to work with our town when they see the dysfunction we show the rest of Worcester County ? My opinion, as always. Bev.
ReplyDeleteI have to say, this issue hit me at the meeting last week when a Selectman mentioned the 30 yr employee and the 50 hours of vacation hypothesis. I thought of Bud. I dont know how the selectman voted on that issue, but the result was showing a 29+ yr employee the door. Now, someones going to say, "you hate Alan", not at all. From what I've seen (very little) he is doing a good job
ReplyDeleteAlan and I have always been friends. This has nothing to do with him. The only issue I have is that Alan is being asked to do to much, and it will only be a matter of time when he can't do it alone. They did stick the town buildings, maintenance on him, something that Bud did not have to do. Just put yourself in Bud's shoes. He is getting close to retirement, that is, if he even wanted to, and the BOF's pull the rug out from under him !! No good reason, no thank you for the good job you did ! No retirement party !! Just the door...What a thank you ! Put yourself in his shoes. If you work for the town, this could be you. Bev.
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