|
9/2 10:08pm
To JK (9/2, 9:33 A.M.)
I agree with your first point, that some recent postings present a very
negative and skewed view of the town of Norfolk, and your second, that
Norfolk has an honest, hard-working and pragmatic government.
Regarding past Selectman Jack McFeeley, the fact that you "disagree with
much of his viewpoints" is unfortunate, because most of his viewpoints
are right on target. He is one of the best Selectmen that this town has
had in the forty-three years that I have been here. We don't have many
persons with his excellent experience and education (PhD, Chem)
volunteering to help the town.
Regarding this:
Does our town have problems? Absolutely! Can the town government solve
the problems alone? No! To assist our elected officials and help SOLVE
the problems, let's avoid the ranting on Norfolknet and suggest helpful
and proactive solutions. In that vein, I offer that some of the key
issues of this town are:
1) Better transparency and easy (web) accessibility of our town
officials and their decisions. (If we know why decisions are made, we
will be more appreciative and less likely to criticize)
Comment: There are links to Municipal webpages at the left side of the
Norfolknet page. Norfolk has one of the best municipal websites in the
state, at minimal cost.
Please explore and study every every page at
www.virtualnorfolk.org.
Please look at the schedule for Norfolk Community TV at
http://www.norfolknet.com/nctv/schedule.html.
Consider watching every Selectman's meeting on
Comcast Channel 22, or tape it for viewing at your convenience. Consider
running a camera for NCTV so that even more Municipal meetings can be
shown; call 508-520-2780 to speak with Paul Guertin, NCTV manager.
Feel free to attend any public meeting, as scheduled on the Meeting
Calendar: URL
http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/norfolkma_Calendar/?FormID=158
2) Focusing on a more simplistic budget (not so much the level of
spending, but getting a better bang for our taxpayer buck - spending to
improve school buildings, quality of education, recreation facilities,
and road and bridge infrastructure sounds simple enough?)
I don't know how our town budget could get any simpler, per se. Please
forward your suggestions to Town Administrator Jack Hathaway, at
http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/norfolkma_admin/index
Better yet, volunteer for a spot on the Advisory Board, our finance
committee. These folks, appointed by Moderator Frank Gross, review all
Town Meeting requests for money at a very early stage, many weeks before
the date of Town Meeting. Many budget requests are subject to change or
deletion by the Advisory Board. The Capital Outlay Committee, appointed
by the Selectmen, is another important committee.
You don't have to be a CPA to get appointed, just have common sense and
be able to work well with other members, while reviewing and approving
or rejecting requests for capital items.
3) More volunteerism - (If the town selectmen gave the residents a
detailed list of how we could all pitch in or donate to improve the
town, you may be surprised by how many people would enjoy to help.
Volunteerism is a way to keep taxes low, while improving the quality of
the town services.)
What the town really needs are volunteers for the many town committees
which are lacking people. See:
http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/norfolkma_government/vacancies
and read that whole page. Call Jack Hathaway at 508-528-1408 to help
sort out which might best suit your interests and training.
Here is a list of committees and boards in need of volunteers: (as
noted on
http://www.virtualnorfolk.org/public_documents/norfolkma_government/vacancies
The Board of Selectmen announces vacancies and/or openings for the
following Boards and Committees: ADA Compliance Committee; Affordable
Housing Committee; Appeals, Zoning Board of; Arts Council; Cable
Advisory Committee; Capital Outlay Committee; Community Preservation
Committee; Conservation Commission; Corrections Advisory Committee;
Council on Aging; Economic Development Committee; Historical
Commission Insurance Advisory Committee; Mirror Lake Advisory
Committee; Norfolk County Advisory Board; Permanent Building
Committee; Planning Board Associate Member Registrar of Voters; Road
Safety Committee; Veterans' Agent; Veterans' Graves Officer.
- RH
|