YOUR NAME IS WILMONT HARDY
Next Tuesday, elected officials in Shelburne County will meet to begin discussions about the future RDA that will service municipalities and communities in Shelburne County. When they do, I am told, they will do so facing a letter from Mr. Anderson of SWSDA fame, demanding that each municipality pledge their future alliance and allegiance to SWSDA as each municipality's choice of RDA for the future. They have been told by Mr. Anderson that they have until December 11 to do so.
Now..... I am reporting this information third hand or fourth hand because I haven't seen the letter from Mr. Anderson. It would be nice to have a copy so that I can share it with my dear readers and communicate my views on the subject to those elected officials whose salaries I pay - before they meet December 1st. However, I am told by Mr. Hardy our erstwhile Town Clerk that I must wait until the day after the December 1 meeting of elected officials, "because Council has not yet reviewed the letter."
As I explained to Mr. Hardy, the law is clear. The public has a right to see or have a copy of any letter in the possession of the Municipality, when it receives the letter. Of course, there are limited exceptions for withholding documents, however this document doesn't fall into any excluded category.
However, to provide municipalities with the necessary time to determine if documents should be withheld, the law provides municipalities with up to 30 days to respond to a request for information. The use of this clause by Mr. Hardy to withold this document until some later date (he said I could have it after the Council meeting on December 2nd) is wrong and contrary to the intent of the law. Further, it is a clear, unadulterated abuse of a position of trust given to those like Mr. Hardy who are entrusted with the responsibility to apply the law correctly and justly.
Of course, I shouldn't be surprised at Mr. Hardy's disregard for his responsibilities to the citizens he is paid to serve. He is the same fella who has the temerity to charge $0.50 a page for copies of documents provided by the Town of Shelburne, when the law clearly states that municipalities are only allowed to charge the actual cost of making a copy. When I pointed that out to Mr. Hardy some time ago he smiled and said that was not the way he interpreted the law.
LITTLE WONDER CITIZENS FEEL DISENFRANCHISED
7 comments:
Hmmm, seems we have a wannabe dictator within the Town of Shelburne Administration.
The local pols are not going to relinguish the reins on creation of a new RDA without some knuckle dragging, but I forecast if they impede progress they'll suffer more than damaged knuckles. They still don't get that their MO of secrecy got us where we are in the first place.
Good luck in your dealings with two-faced bureaucrats and pols who feel they have done our citizens proud. The sooner they retire or are kicked out of office the better.
If MDS and the other four councils throw more funds to SWSDA it will be the tipping point for a revolt by the taxpayers - how quickly they forget they work for us!
We're surprised a mole hasn't surfaced from the dung heap by now Ed. Betcha you'll see a copy within the day.
What the "meep" is going on in this town - who's calling the shots in the mayor's office these days? Good luck Ed!
Mr. Hardy is doing what is in the best interest of his bosses, the elected officials, in giving them time to review the document before releasing the letter to the public. I would say that he is practicing common sense in this regard. Something not practiced by most elected officials and others!!! Go ask Kirk Cox for the letter and see what he tells you, or Brian Holland. Bet they will tell you the same... Pick on those who deserve to be, not those just doing their job, be it "the right thing to do, or not!!"
R.N.
Re: anon 5:49 and who is calling the shots...
The Mayor is calling the shots and has directed the Clerk to withhold documents. Mr. Hardy has also refused to respond to several requests from me for documents related to the claims of SWSDA that they have made any effort to generate funding for the $5 million Port project. SWSDA has done nothing to date the cat-and-mouse game by the Clerk and Mayor will only last so long. The time for civility in theme matters is past.
T Gillespie
"Pick on those who deserve to be..." doesn't hold water. We're fortunate to have a few good men who know their rights and are willing to fight for them. If admin staff can't take the heat - need I say more.
Anon 6:49 says "Mr. Hardy is doing what is in the best interest of his bosses"... he/she is absolutely right - and wrong at the same time. The witholding of public records can serve to shield the "bosses" from public scrutiny, while they deliberate. A true benefit. The problem arises when the shielding is done to keep important or embarrassing information from those who have a right to see it.
There are instances where clerks in this region withold documents from their own councils (most likely under the direction of mayors or wardens) in order to isolate or marginalize councilors who do not toe the "company line".
The sticky problem here is that the legislature, the supreme court and the Freedom of Information office have clearly opined that the risk of intrusion into the deliberation process is outweighed by the public benefit of disclosure.
Neither Mr. nor Mayor Delaney is qualified or permitted to with hold documents because they find it convenient or expedient.It's true, democracy is a messy game at times.
Post a Comment