Alvina Day [10/06/2005]

To the editor:To the taxpayers of Brownfield: Is it time to get rid of Wanda Bartlett at any cost?This letter comes to you with great concern over the management of the affairs of the Town of Brownfield. It is with shame and disgrace over the way the board of selectmen are managing the town finances, the selectmen's meetings and overall management. This letter is to explain to you where my concerns are, and if I am being unfair, then I will stand corrected, but until then this is the way I see it.This starts with the day of elections, when the voters cast their votes and defeated the proposed land use ordinance. The ballot clerks counted the ballots, and I understand that two of them missed counting one ballot; however, the proposed land use ordinance was still defeated.There are people saying that Brownfield does not have a land use ordinance, but they are either lying or just not happy with the one we have. You see, if you want to build a building you have to get a building permit and have to pay per square foot. If we do not have a land use ordinance, where do the selectmen get the idea that it is okay to charge anything? Brownfield does have a land use ordinance, and if the land use ordinance committee would draft a new one suitable for Brownfield, the voters would probably accept it, but they did not and that is where the problem began in the first place.The day after elections, we had our annual town meeting. At this meeting, the voters voted on the compensation for the clerk/tax collector/treasurer/registrar, knowing full well that Wanda Bartlett has held these positions for about 12 years. Note also that the town voted the position to be compensated as salary and not an hourly compensation back in 1993.So, this is the situation that I see: the board of selectmen and the BTA want to get rid of Wanda, and because the voters won't, they are willing to do anything that they can to undermine her position in the town. Wanda and I worked together for eight years and did not see eye to eye on everything, but she is an honest and hard-working person who just doesn't fit in with the current board of selectmen. Is it the honest or hard-working part that doesn't fit? Anyway, my concern now is that the selectmen are willing to take away wages from a salaried position to fund the new person that they have selected. I am concerned that this could open the town up for a lawsuit for lost wages. Besides this, we currently have two clerical town employees fully qualified and trained to perform the duties of registrar but the board will not give the position to either one of them. At a board meeting on Sept. 20, I was told the only qualification was that it is a clerical position. Voters, you are paying for these employees to have this training and they are working for you. Do you see anything wrong with the selectmen hiring someone else to do the job? I consider this mismanagement of town finances.The selectmen's meetings are conducted in a manner that leaves one wondering what is going on behind closed doors. Here is the situation: Concerning the proposed registrar position, the selectmen said they already had a resum from someone but could not produce one at their meeting on Sept. 20. No one in the meeting could produce it either; however, employee Michelle Day did hand in her resum to be considered for the position. So, the way I see it, the board had a qualified applicant who already works for the town and the selectmen don't seem to have a problem with hiring from within because our public works director was hired without the normal advertisement so they could have done the same in this situation. This position was not advertised in the paper the way most openings are.My concern over the overall management of the town is the way these selectmen respond to requests from other departments, the public works or the fire department, as fire chief stated concerning the acquisition of another fire truckone time they tell the chief to go get it, and another time they tell him there is no money. One would think they could make up their minds and do the job they are elected to do instead of trying to run our other elected officials out of office. Let the voters decide who goes and who stays at the next election.I am not part of any group in this town and generally I support our selectmen because they are our elected officials, but when a person things there is corruption going on at taxpayer expense, I think it is your responsibility to question and let others know. I have witnessed firsthand how some selectmen put their personal agenda ahead of what is best for the town and that is a shameful way to conduct business. Perhaps this year we've seen the same thing in the form of two or three? Please, voters, think before you cast your vote for someone and stay attuned to what they are doing. It's your money and your vote that are in question here, as well as a principle of what is right or wrong. Please watch for a response from our watchdogs, "the great and powerful" Taxpayer Association members who didn't appear to have any concern over what is going on. One wonders, why? Watch to see who gets the appointment!