Dear Readers,
I’ve been thinking a lot over the past two days about the open meeting law and the public’s right to information.
If you go to the Common Cause website at
www.maopengov.org, you can read a very good explanation of the law. The law is very specific as to how government board members can talk to each other and what topics they can talk about in regular public meetings vs. executive sessions. What it doesn’t speak to is how much information the public deserves to know leading up to board policy or action decisions, or when the public should be given the chance to hear such pertinent information.
Since the law doesn’t specify what or when information must be disclosed to citizens, it is imperative that we elect officials and hire town employees who we trust to do their business in the open, and who we trust to put the public’s right to know at the top of their priorities.
In an email that I sent to our Board of Selectmen, School Committee and Finance Committee on the second day of Town Meeting, I said that we can no longer afford to run our town using lies, half-truths and innuendo. When credibility is constantly on the line, any information that could potentially change a citizen’s municipal services or voting preferences must be disclosed, as soon as it becomes known.
We have two very important issues pending right now, without adequate disclosure to the citizens of North Andover.
On the school side, I believe Superintendent Jim Marini had an obligation to immediately inform School Committee Chairperson Barbara Whidden when he received notice in May that our high school accreditation was placed back on warning status. Mrs. Whidden and Dr. Marini would then have an obligation to inform the public at the next regularly scheduled School Committee meeting.
On the municipal side, the Board of Selectmen have known since their meeting just prior to Town Meeting that the Osgood Landing deal was seriously falling apart. It’s still probably dead in the water. Then-Chairman Caggiano repeatedly refused to speak to the issue during Town Meeting. The Town Manager and Board of Selectmen have issued no public update since that time that I’m aware of, other than a brief comment from the Town Manager to the Finance Committee in July (when I was the only public in the non-televised meeting). I believe the public has a right to know if progress has been made. I believe the public has a right to know the contents of Town Council Tom Urbelis’ opinion(s) delivered to the BOS on the first night of Town Meeting, and I believe the public has a right to know the status of both the $600,000 payment from the State and where we stand [budget-wise] regarding the state payment, the per unit income and real estate taxes we’d been promised would be available starting as early as FY2010.
I believe that our town employees and town elected officials need to recognize the public as their partners, as equals who have the intelligence to understand, the wisdom to evaluate important information, and the legal right to participate in the decision-making process. The more we know, whether it’s positive or negative news, the better we understand the issues when we’re called upon to vote as our legislative body.
I believe in honest answers to honest questions, but I also believe that we shouldn’t have to guess the right questions to get the important information. How about if we all share honest information, ask the honest questions, give the honest answers, and debate our options with respect and understanding?
Sincerely,
Sandy Gleed
