Fewer meetings does not mean less work for selectmen

To The Daily Sun,

The January 13 letter from Mr. Bill Whalen was printed under a misleading headline, “Selectmen meet fewer hours are receiving a boost in pay.” I’d like to try to set the record straight.

First of all, the Selectmen for the Town of Sanbornton are not receiving a “boost in pay”. In fact, the stipend had remained unchanged for over 6 years, and there are no plans to change it for fiscal year 21 either. The last increase to the stipend was done in recognition of the amount of time Selectmen spend in the execution of their duties, and that amount of work has not decreased.

It is true that the Board made an administrative decision to move to biweekly meetings in light of the amount of work required to prepare for a meeting. That biweekly model has been used historically during the summer months with great success, and extending it was viewed as a positive step.

Mr. Whalen expresses concern that “we must make sure that the BOS is available weekly to our residents and town department heads so they may keep abreast of what is going on in town,” yet he doesn’t cite an example of where the biweekly schedule has caused an issue for a resident or department head. That’s probably because no such example exists. All of the required business is being handled in a timely matter, and in fact the department heads and Town Administrator have more time available to deal with emergent issues because they are not spending as much time preparing for a weekly meeting. The option always exists to call a properly noticed meeting for an urgent requirement, but that has not been needed.

As far as changing the meeting schedule going against the “compensation increase” philosophy, I would invite Mr. Whalen to walk a mile in our shoes. I routinely spend 20-30 hours a week on Town business. In addition to the Board meeting, each Selectman is the representative to several other committees, commissions, and boards. It’s not unusual to have meetings four nights in a given week. That’s in addition to the time it takes to research issues being brought before the Board and other bodies, stay abreast of municipal policy, and support the department heads and Town Administrator in the execution of their duties. So, at over 1,000 hours of work per year, that’s less than $5/hr. Eliminating a 3-hour meeting every other week hardly takes away from the amount of effort it takes to serve the Town.

And just to be fully transparent, I am not taking the stipend for my service on the Board — so I have no financial interest in how many hours we work. My interest is in efficiency and creating positive outcomes for our residents.

The Town is fully committed to providing its residents with the best, most efficient service that it can. I welcome input from our residents about issues of concern, especially when they are causing true problems.

James Dick

Sanbornton