Commentary by Frank Schroth

Can we please get a round of applause for the good guys? They show up at town hall in the evening and they meet and talk until 9:00, 10:00, 11:00 or later. They do this night after night, week after week. They don’t get paid and they rarely get thanked. They weren’t elected. They were just tapped on the shoulder and they answered a call.

The are the members of the Warrant Committee, the Town Administrator search committee, the Government Review committee. They put in countless hours of time and energy. They did not invent the system they participate in. They just do what they are asked to do.

If we do not like the decisions they make or the job they do we shouldn’t take it out on them but the elected officials who put them there.

It was recently suggested the Town Administrator Search Committee be suspended due to the time it was taking and the consideration that the incoming selectman (assuming there is one) should have a voice. We respectfully disagree for three reasons:

• 6 – 8 months to identify, vet, and select a small set of qualified candidates for a director level position is not a long time – it reflects the time and attention such a task deserves
• it sends the wrong message to the search committee
• assuming a responsibly run search will always take 6+ months and that selectmen have three years terms and one is up for re-election every year; then the potential for input from a new selectman will always be there. It is a bit humorous to think that if Mr. Sweeney should chose not to run or be defeated that the newly elected selectman might align with one of the other sitting selectmen and move to bring Mearn back. And then that selectman gets defeated and they dismiss Mearn again. Of course, one hopes the selectmen realize this appointment, done right, will outlive any of their terms.

The committee is putting in a solid effort. They took the time to propose an alternative job description which was characterized by one selectman as “forward thinking” – but that was not adopted. However, it reflects the thought going into the process. The other boards cited do the same and there are others – Alternate energy, Wind turbine, Conservation commission etc. They can also be found on the MFE, The Friends of the Library, the Boosters, et al.

Their work matters and they should be commended. So.  .  .  let’s hear it for the good guys.