Please stop the closed door meetings and back room tactics

To the editor,

Deja vu all over again. . . but please keep an open mind.

It was just two months ago that the Moultonboro Board of Selectmen, led by Betsey Patten, did a major flip flop, seemingly out of nowhere, to bring the question of the long contentious Lions Club/Playground Drive "debacle" back once again to the voters at Town Meeting. This occurred as a non-agenda item and was made to appear as a sudden revelation based upon a document the public has still yet to see.

Now two months later, also seemingly out of nowhere, the Moultonboro Board of Selectmen. again led by Betsey Patten, again in a non agenda item, decided to place a question on the 2012 Town Warrant to form a Charter Commission which could potentially do away with Town Meeting. With little discussion and no dissent from any selectmen, the motion passed unanimously. How do these things happen?

Considering the potential drastic change in town government that a Charter Commission portends, one would expect that at the very least some of the board members would have been taken aback at this proposal. Surprisingly, not one "whoa Betsey". Does anyone really believe that the Board of Selectmen never discussed this before?

To the Moultonboro Board of Selectmen: please stop the closed door meetings and back door tactics like phone calls or e-mails and such to avoid the spirit and intent of the open meeting law. Most importantly, please stop the "meeting before the meeting" that occurs literally in the back room before each selectmen meeting. At the very least, when announcements like this are made can some of you act surprised? To then tell the public that you want to conduct this process over the next year in an "open discussion" and expect to be believed is well, unbelievable.

I attended this particular selectmen meeting on Decemeber 15, and due to work commttments and the fact that agenda items were complete, I left. I had no idea that this would even be discussed. How about giving us taxpayers and citizens a heads up before bringing up these major issues so that we can have an open discussion? To many of us not on the inside in town, it seems like the fix is in. An end game is already in mind.

I did a little research on Charter Commissions and will continue to do so and talk with other towns and inform the public on my blog, MoultonboroSpeaks.blogspot.com.

I urge fellow citizens to keep an open mind on a Charter Commission as there are some possibilities with a new form of government to improve voter participation and make the decision making process more inclusive. To do so, we need a blend of citizens, not just the core insiders. If we do this, let's do it right. If the Town does decide to elect a Charter Commission, I intend to put my name on the ballot.

Paut T. Punturieri

Moultonboro