It is understandable that a reporter for the Brockton Enterprise might not be familiar with the protests about Middleboro's PTWS (Pathetic Town Web Site) that has gone on for more years than one remembers.
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In 2007, the Middleboro IT Director, Roger Brunelle, husband of a computer inept Selectwoman Marsha Brunelle, announced that he would include a CALENDAR of public meetings in the PTWS.
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Not done!
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At a recent BOS meeting, Selectwoman Marsha Brunelle used the terms "blog" and "email address" interchangeably, refusing to publish her personal blog address for the public to send comments to her. Someone needs to explain that a second email account can be established. The same can be said of Selectman Steven Spataro, currently running for re-election.
.Lest anyone believe the CALENDAR is a trivial matter, take a look at where public meetings are posted and the disarray on the current bulletin board.
.The Public Meetings are posted in the lobby of the Bank Building. That lobby is locked in off hours. So, let's say, you're sauntering down the street on the weekend and want to review posted meetings. You best remember to bring your binoculars because you can't view the posted meetings otherwise!
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The Middleboro Gazette does an admirable job of listing meetings that are posted in their edition that is published on Thursday. But, let's just say a meeting is posted after the Gazette goes to press. It's posted nowhere else other than the cluttered and inaccessible bulletin board.
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Maybe that complies with the Open Meeting Law, but it sure doesn't make it convenient, nor very public.
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Until voters protested the failure of the Middleboro Board of Selectmen to make Executive Meeting Minutes available, as provided in the Public Records Statute, it was never done. Compliance with that statute was accomplished over the protests and whines of the BOS who initially suggested passing along the cost of Town Counsel's review made sense.
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Executive Meeting Minutes were released and posted once. We're still waiting for the regular reviews specified in the law.
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Previous attempts to motivate the BOS to create a new and improved replacement for the PTWS have been met with resistance.
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Town residents have offered to create one for FREE. Those offers have been ignored.
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Town Meeting Warrants have been posted on the Library web site, to the credit of the Library Director, in the past because they haven't been posted on the PTWS.
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Transparency?
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In fairness to one of the departments that has worked to post forms and information on the PTWS, I must correct the following comment ---
Middleboro, West Bridgewater and Whitman do not make property assessments available on the Web.
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On the PTWS that goes beyond user unfriendly toward user hostile, the Assessing Department has posted the information. You just can't easily find it unless you know it's there.
.Middleboro voters have elected dinosaurs who resist change and modernization.
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Clearly, Kyle Alspach is unfamiliar with Middleboro Mushroom Farming.
6 comments:
In the Cape Cod times it is reported that the town manager and the town planner have met with the tribe to 'get acquainted'. I have repeatedly asked about communications with the tribe and been lead to believe that we haven't been in touch with them at all. If you check the minutes from the last BOS meeting it clearly states: "Mr. Frawley asked if anyone has heard back from the tribe regarding a letter sent asking for a meeting. Chairman indicated that we have not heard back, but hopefully soon."
We, as a town have been deliberately mislead regarding this matter, by the board as a whole and by the Town Manager. Maybe this is why we feel like this board cannot be trusted. This action is outrageous and these practices must not be tolerated.
Quite simply, this is unacceptable.
The Chairman also said recently that the point person on the issue was the Town Manager.
If the Town Manager and Town Planner are meeting with the Tribe in a transparent attempt to circumvent the Open Meeting Law, which is the way this appears, it seems that we have returned to the Back Room Deals of 2 years ago.
This in no way has anything to do with the casino issue, but rather the failure of the BOS to recognize the need for transparency in all matters.
One of the candidates for the Town Manager position posted his weekly Town Manager's Report on the Town Web Site. Not only did he do that, but he also stressed his belief that the BOS should know everything that he knew, when he knew it. He accomplished it via emails.
Since Selectwoman Marsha Brunelle hasn't figured out the difference between blogs and email, what should we expect?
If the current Town Manager is meeting with the Tribe and not informing the BOS, have we returned to the Mushroom Farming of Jack Healey?
The pattern of a lazy and uninformed BOS remains unchanged.
I recently sent a copy of Carcieri v Salazar to the BOS, along with a pair of reading glasses, which they do seem to require.
I requested that an opinion from Whittlesey would be appropriate to clarify the Town's position.
Not done!
Those who have read Carcieri fully understand that the potential for the project is somewhere between a snowball's chance in hell and never.
The Tribe is fully obligated to continue to pay monies to Middleboro for various reasons, including for real estate taxes for a parcel they don't even own. There is no deadline or cancellation included in the IGA.
The legalities require public clarification by the BOS, not continuation of back room deals.
Mike Solaminni's comment made me look at the minutes. They're horrible and I can't believe this is an acceptable historical record.
Each time issues are raised, I try to pay attention and know that if you raise it, it must be important.
Keep raising them. You've taught me alot.
You got it right when you said voters elected dinosaurs. Time for change. They don't listen and never have.
dinosaurs? Far too generous more like jack and his asses.
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