Several people have told me recently that they feel that Dartmouth has outgrown the Town Meeting form of government. I disagree. I feel that the Town Meeting is really democratic government as it should be, everyone gets a chance to have their say, and then the question is put to a vote, majority rule. I have great faith in the people to know what is the right thing for their community at large. Special interests and power cliques will find it difficult to influence this disparate group of residents and money has no influence at all. If our other governments could operate as democratically, we would be better off. A column in today's Standard Times talks about a city councilor spending $30,000 on a re-election campaign. Where did that money come from and what favors are now due?
I believe that what is really going on is a failure of leadership. Dartmouth has grown a lot in the past few decades and that growth and added revenue has made for easy choices. Now growth is slowing and we need to take a hard look at our priorities and make some changes. Those in leadership, being accustomed to flusher times, are not willing to make the hard choices required. I don't see how a different form of government changes that dynamic at all. What do you think? Would a mayor and council be more or less representative of the interests of the townspeople?
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Is Town Meeting the right form of government for Dartmouth?
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5 comments:
I agree with much of what you say, and no form of government is perfect. The problem with what we have is one of accountability.
The school side of the town answers to no one, so they can't be made to sharpen their pencil stubs and implement change before they ask for more money.
The paid town leaders report to the Select Board. The leaders work hard and get rewarded because they do, but no one forces them to do the entire job.
The DOR report said we have good day-to-day managers, which translates to we have good supervisors. Managers are required to forecast, plan, and adjust budgets based on available revenue. We consistently spend 2% to 3% each year more than we take in, and no one adjusts to that.
The Select Board's prime function is to oversee our paid leaders. Instead of decreeing that the leaders do things in a different way, they take it upon themselves to try and come up with a plan. That is not their job, and 5 part-time people can't possibly accomplish what is necessary, but it IS the job of those that report to them, and get paid well for it.
Don't misunderstand me, I personally like all the folks that run our town, but as you mentioned there is a reluctance to do the hard parts of the job. The change in the landscape requires we do things differently, and it is not being done, nor is anyone forcing it to be done.
It is easier to spend the time planning override after override, and we all know that throwing more money at a broken system is never the answer.
We have learned nothing from last year, and there has been no substantial change in the way we do business. We are saving nickels when we need big dollars. There have been no proposed balanced budgets for FY09 so unless something changes drastically over the next month or so we will again be slashing entire parts of the town to close the $1M to $1.5M gap that we now have on top of last year's shortage.
I personally get tired of hearing that we, the voters, don't give them enough money to run the town. The words, "the way they want" should be added to make it truthful. There needs to be an attitude adjustment, as well as the aforementioned accountability.
I believe that the only reason people are talking about a structure that includes a Mayor is that it forces the responsibility and the accountability to make hard decisions for the entire town, to one person. Our structure could work, but it isn't.
Frankg, the elected School Committee should fill the same role on the school side as the Select Board does on the town side. Unfortunately, they are also unwilling to direct the superintendent to make the requisite difficult choices. The superintendent and others are pretty well paid as well and they have to live within the funding available. See my post titled, "Where are our priorities?" for my thoughts on that. The superintendent is still talking about after school programs and the like. The School Committee needs to make it crystal clear what our priorities are in the school department and I don't think they have. I think that curriculum (books)and instruction (teachers) should be the priority but don't see that in the discussions at the School Committee. They just cheerlead for an override
I believe that the structure on the school side is a bit different. I don't think that Dr. Russell reports to the SC, they are more like his "cabinet".
I DO agree that the SC could be looking at the "business" of education and coming up with ideas on how to make better use of the money they get before asking for more. To the observer it looks like they only want to continue as they have, and just request more money. To the taxpayer/voter this flies like a lead balloon.
Based on what I "see" I can only assume that fresh blood is required for the SC, people willing to dig at the structure and suggest change. There is fat in any structure, one just has to actively look for it. Learning how to do things differently can work wonders, and in this case would provide more money for the kids and relieve fees charged to the parents.
I feel badly for the teachers and the parents who are stuck with a system that they don't have much control over. I applaud efforts such as what the Parents Group put forth, but it appears all their ideas just got blown off. The apparent arrogance on the school side of town certainly hurts their own cause. This is a perfect example of shooting oneself in both feet.
frankg, Having watched the School Committee in action myself, I can see why you feel they are like his cabinet. Here is what MGL Chapter 71, section 37 says are the powers and duties of the School Committee
Section 37. The school committee in each city and town and each regional school district shall have the power to select and to terminate the superintendent, shall review and approve budgets for public education in the district, and shall establish educational goals and policies for the schools in the district consistent with the requirements of law and statewide goals and standards established by the board of education.
Thanks, I obviously didn't know that. I knew they had clout but didn't realize it was that much.
In light of that, they clearly have to be held accountable... there's that word again... for the lack of fiscal progress on that side.
I personally am going to be looking for candidates who are not afraid to look through all the draws and under the rug.
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