Special Town Meeting
February 25, 2009
With only about 300 of the Town’s eligible voters attending, the nine Articles all pass resoundingly (a few were unanimous). This was in stark contrast to some of the rumor and innuendo about Town, with a possible counter-proposal on the main budget Article.
For me, it was disappointing to read from a flyer printed by our Town Clerk:
“I believe that it is my obligation as your Town Clerk to warn voters of Bridgewater of the critical nature of the upcoming Special Town Meeting on Tuesday, February 24, 2009.” “Listed are some but not all of the impacts this vote will have:” “Two full time police officers will be laid off.” “Fire department will not be able to provide the same level of services to the community due to insufficient manpower.” {Click here to download a copy of the handout distributed over the weekend.}
While the Police Chief did inquire last night about the difference between a $50k and $75k reductions (which the Board of Selectmen and Advisory Board both said would be mitigated by an upcoming transfer into the Police Dept. budget), there was no mention of the potential loss of two officers. Also, Fire Chief Rogers never spoke of insufficient manpower. If there is “insufficient manpower”, I expect to hear details and discussion from our Fire Chief.
So yes, I am disappointed that a compromise consensus proposal put together by the Board of Selectmen, Advisory Board, Municipal Administrator and Department Heads was targeted by a Department Head who believed it his duty to create a campaign flyer (Paid for by the “Committee to Re-elect Ron Adams, Town Clerk” printed at the bottom) spreading false and misleading information.
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Joseph Gillis Jr.
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