Charlie Allen seeking Madison selectman's seat

Due to a reporting error, the biographical portion of Madison selectman’s candidate Charlie Allen’s campaign profile was left out of a story that appeared in Thursday’s paper about Allen and three other candidates: Nicole Nordlund, Adam Price and Joe Dame. Here is Allen’s complete essay:

I am proud to announce that I am running for a seat on the Madison select board, seeking the privilege of serving the good and hardworking people of the Town of Madison.

I have lived in Madison for more than 30 years and have been deeply involved in our community while raising four sons through Madison Elementary School and Kennett Junior and Senior High Schools.

Together with my wife of 23 years, Patty, I help raise golden retrievers.

I have spent over 50 years of my life working on and later managing construction projects. I cut my teeth managing crews on small jobs dotting the Mt. Washington Valley and have also had the experience of overseeing large, multi-phase projects, including the Kahuna Laguna Water Park at the Red Jacket Resort. I served two years on the Madison Planning Board. This experience has given me the skills to plan and execute complex projects in a team setting.

As selectmen we need to work together to preserve Madison’s history and beauty while meeting the modern challenges of town government. It is our responsibility to listen to residents, understand their concerns, and enact thoughtful, effective policies while ensuring that all town departments are managed efficiently and responsibly, with respect for taxpayer dollars.

The controversy concerning employees’ use of town equipment continues. There needs to be a thorough investigation into this practice so everyone knows what has transpired. The question is: Do we have a town employee conduct the investigation or hire a third party?

There needs to be a transparent policy developed for the use of town equipment. My understanding is that it is illegal for an employee to use town equipment for personal use; however, I have not seen a written copy of the municipal law. Lots of discussion at the Jan. 27 selectmen’s meeting. At the end of the Feb. 3 meeting, it was voted that the selectman and head of DPW need to sign off on any personal use of town equipment. The board would add a line item to the budget to hire an independent investigator. MRI was mentioned as possible company.

At the Feb. 10 budget meeting what was voted on at Feb 3 meeting has been changed. What was the process for the change? Did all the selectmen vote for the change?

The selectmen and head of DPW allow the use of town equipment by employees to happen, It is the selectmen’s responsibility to change the policy and follow the law.