To the Editor,
Did you know Manchester-by-the-sea has a YouTube channel where you can watch all the various town meeting shenanigans?
Ayup, that’s right -- there is, but I’m not sure anyone wants you to know about it.
There are currently 65 subscribers and 248 videos have been posted to date. The URL is:
www.youtube.com/@manchester-by-the-sea/videos
And why do I believe administrators don’t want you to know about it? The first clue is the 65 subscribers. The second clue is that meeting “minutes,” which are required by law to be posted on the town website for public consumption are …
Just for fun I looked at the town website where meeting minutes are (wink wink) posted. The Finance Committee last posting was February 2 and FOUR meetings have been held since.
The Board of Health brain trust behind “keeping you safe” during The Wuhan have also had FIVE (5) meetings since their last January 12 “minutes” posting. As a friendly reminder -- the “Board of Health” was/is responsible for the Wuhan health theater we experienced then and now.
The Planning Board minutes last posting was, um, I guess they forgot this year.
The average Town Manager salary in Massachusetts is $ :-) :-) as of February 27, 2023. Our Town Administrator in 2022 received $ :-) :-) ;-) as salary, approximately thirty-three (33%) more than the average. I am under the impression “administrating” involves ensuring “minutes” are posted for citizens.
Pay attention folks, there are various Selectman and Planning Board seats up for grabs on May 16th -- do your homework, vote early and vote often! If the current Town Administrator and Planning Board cannot figure out how to inform the public about important discussions involving the short- and long-term interests of the town—are they the right people for the job?
I am guessing the town employees who REALLY make and keep this town beautiful don’t get paid 33 percent more than the Massachusetts average for their role—and that, in my opinion, is the Department of Public Works.
Don’t get me started on who’s responsible for rescuing kittens from tree’s… perhaps someone in Middleton will help…
Ooops, almost forgot: “The Open Meeting Law requires public bodies to create and approve minutes in a timely manner.
A “timely manner” is considered to be within the next three public body meetings or 30 days from the date of the meeting, whichever is later, unless the public body can show good cause for further delay.”
Christian Brown
Manchester
