It has been said that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's why it can be dangerous to mix employment with elected office or to allow a single person to hold too many influential offices.
The following warrant article was submitted by petition to the town clerk last week. Read it over and share your thoughts with us!
This same article was petitioned in 2006 and at deliberative was changed to read: "Shall the town direct its future employees and officials, both elected and appointed, to avoid all published conflicts of interest as outlined in Town Polices?" At the time, the only such policies related to full-time police officers (and possibly others) having "moon-lighting" jobs that would interfere with their work. If you support this article, be sure to show up at deliberative and cast your vote against any efforts to "gut" it.
We the undersigned registered voters of the Town of Winchester hereby petition for the following article to be placed on the Town Warrant in March of 2010:
Shall the Town adopt, in accordance with RSA 31:39-a, a Town of Winchester Conflict of Interest Ordinance as follows?
TOWN OF WINCHESTER CONFLICT OF INTEREST ORDINANCE
1. Town employees and Town officials must avoid conflicts of interest. Town employees and Town officials shall not participate in any matter in which they, or their spouses or any immediate family member have a private interest which may directly or indirectly affect or influence the impartiality of the performance of their duties, and are required to publicly disclose conflicts of interest of which they know or should know.
2. In addition to statutory incompatibility of offices as defined in RSA 669:7 and 669:8 the following combinations of employment and/or appointed and/or elected positions may not be held by a single person at the same time:
a. Any employment position in excess of 16 hours per week and any elected or ap pointed office. (Stipends for elected or appointed officials do not constitute employment.)
b. Selectman and chairman of the Planning Board.
c. Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Chairman of the Solid Waste District Ad visory Committee.
d. Chairman of the Board of Selectmen and Chairman of the Conservation Commis sion.
3. Failure to abide by the provisions of this ordinance shall constitute grounds for removal from office upon petition by any person to the Cheshire County Superior Court.
As required by RSA 31:39-a this ordinance exempts affected officers and employees who are in office or employed at the time the ordinance is adopted for a period not to exceed one year from the date of adoption.
5 comments:
I for one can think of a few people that would fall under this. There is truly a conflict of interest on their behalf or perhaps a control issue. No doubt about it.
Excellent idea!
Too many of our employees hold too many positions in our town government. It has become a family affair and reeks of nepotism. There is no democracy in Winchester, it is whatever a few families want and to hell with the rest of us. We are nothing more than sheep being led to slaughter if we don't change the way our town is run and by whom.
I agree, the same names keep popping up on all these boards and committees and many of these people are getting paid under multiple job titles. Never once have I ever seen a job posted in the paper or on the town's bulletin board, it's always given to someone already holding a position, a family member of close friend.It is these same people who make the rules and regulations that govern the town and allow them to do whatever they want. Our town is suffering from a lack of business, fairness for all and a stagnant town government that is both secretive and unanswering to the problems many of us face each day.I agree with the people who run this site, it is time to make changes that will benefit all of us. It is time we fill vacancies with learned people not family members we have to pay to train. Enough is enough!
How legal is it for Gus Ruth to be Chairman of two boards?
Then Queen Margaret is a town employee with benefits as Land Use officer, Chairman of the Planning Board, acting Secretary for the Planning Board (she takes her own minutes), Secretary for the Zoning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustments Assistant, Building Inspector Assistant and on the Revitalization Economic Development Committee. Does anyone see a "control" issue here?
The Board of Selectman do not appear to have an issue and if we the people say we have one, it falls on deaf ears. I for one say it's high time we have an ordinance like this.
No wonder Mr Berthiaume can't wait to get the hell of the select board. Its a tough place to be if you are the only one with a conscience.
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