1982-03-01- to 1982-06-16-ATM-min

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Adjourned Session of the 19 82 Annual Town Meeting April 2 1982 Article 48. With the unanimous consent of the meeting, Ephraim Weiss withdrew (Cont.) his motion to amend. 9:32 P.M. Marthur H. Kalil read the following report: Re Article XIX -Sec. 2 As Clerk of the By -Laws Committee, I rise to set the record straight by pointing out that the two suppositions used as the bases for opposition to this proposed change are in direct opposition to what actually is. The arguments, therefore, are without foundation. I shall explain. One of the contentions was that the By -Laws Committee was ignorant of the Town Manager's intent to name himself as Civil Defense Director in case of a crisis. This is wrong! Let's just take a brief look at this committee. If you add up the number of years of their formal schooling, you get a total of over 96....nearly a century. All this book- lea.rnin' resulted in three lawyers, a PhD and me (to represent the common man!). And, there are enough honorary society keys in the bunch to open. a can of sardines at a picnic if need arise. What I am saying is that this is not a group easily bamboozled through ignorance. Further, the number of years of combined civic and political involve- ment nearly equals that of the more formal schooling. This is not a group easily bamboozled through naivete! The truth is that the By- Laws Committee was not bamboozled by anything or anyone. It was fully cognizant of the Town Manager's intent as put forth in our meeting with him on September 31, 1981. What the fact really is is that the Town Manager's intent was viewed as a wise one. In a state of crisis, how much more effective to have the administrative ability in the hands and mind of one man who is trained to administer rather than be subject to the differences of many minds trained to deliberate and debate? As to the second allegation... that the By -Laws Committee did away with the cherished American tradition of "checks and balances." This is nonsensical! Another brief look at the committee shows that this is not a group comprised of any one political type. Its members cover the spectrum from conservative through moderate to liberal. It is not a group which could condone any diminution of a system of checks and balances. Rather, by its very composition, it is a group which was able to go beyond a rather elementary perception of this basic process and realize that the proposed change strengthens demo- cratic control. Let's look at specifics. Under the status quo, the Board of Selectmen have both the primary and the anti - ultimate powers. Should they abuse said power,,, the only recourse is the voter. (A process that would take four years to complete.) Yes, there is a system of checks and balances there, but it is slow and dangerously subject to the vagaries of time. Under the suggested change,:the actual practice of control is strengthened. Think about this. According to the Selectmen -Town Manager Act Section 9 the Town Manager's actions are under constant review by the Board of Selectmen and Section 7 says that the Selectmen can re- move the Town Manager within as short a. period as 30 days. So, you see, under the proposed change, the real power is not concentrated but rather dispersed. The Director of Civil Defense would have the primary administrative abilities, but should he abuse such, he could be democratically reviewed and quickly removed. The Board of Select- men would still retain the anti - ultimate power and needless to say, the voters, the ultimate. I am sure that the acuity and intent of the By -Laws Committee was not purposefully misrepresented. It is very understandable that the subtlety and refined political reasoning of this change could be missed by some. However, I am also sure that now that the reality has been set before you, the Town Meeting, you will see it clearly and pass the proposal. 9:38 P.M.