To the Editor:

I would like to comment on the letter of Westerlo’s current fire chief, Kevin Flensted, in the Sept. 28 issue of The Altamont Enterprise. He is running for a position as councilman in November’s election. I am totally in agreement with his reference to “transparency.”  

As a long-time participant of our town board meetings, I have asked many, many questions.

Until the current council people request every department head, including all the elected officials, to both write and orally report on a monthly basis everything in detail of all their actions, expenditures, etc. and have it printed as their own department records and copied for the public to ascertain at every meeting, our local government, in my opinion, will never be able to say it is transparent.

Forget about just voucher numbers, which explain little or nothing. Get with the specs! Get with the clarity! Details in print can answer lots of questions and in turn save lots of time.

In reference to the Westerlo candidate interviews, the praise of the museum, renewed town recreation, and town library belong to those individuals representing and working in those areas.

Councilman Joe Boone’s sister-in law, Laura Tenney Boone, a library affiliate, gives an excellent presentation and library report throughout the year. His brother, Gerry Boone is a member of the planning board too. I was pleased that money in our annual budget, which was designated for youth recreation for many years, has finally gotten used again for that purpose and was overseen by Councilman Boone.

Dottie Verch, the chairwoman for the Broadband Research Committee and chairwoman of the planning board, in my opinion, has been doing double duty, only to be faced by much opposition, instead of support. Through her endeavors, she has been able to find that the town should have rightfully received, I believe the amount is $45,000 from error billing due to improper ZIP-code recording by the cable company.

If I have all my facts correct, I believe, this is just one piece of information that our current councilmembers have not addressed in detail. Transparency?

Whoever gets elected should realize they are servants of the people and we, the constituents, do not have to trust officials to make decisions. “Trust” is a meaningful word and, in my opinion, trust has to be earned.

Now if you throw in the word “respect,” you’ve got the makings for a good relationship that should work toward a positive outcome.

The budget process should be revised at least where the print of numbers is large enough so I do not have to witness individuals using magnifying  glasses.

The crumbling concrete of the town hall’s rear steps has been put into a safety zone and marked off by yellow security tape. The Republican chairwoman, Lisa DeGroff, deserves the credit for that safety issue that was brought to the attention of the town board and it finally acted on it. Personally, I should feel slighted because I brought up this same issue a few years back and I got zero action. Oh well, one plus for the Republicans, better late than never, or the town just likes her more than me.

The planning of workshops is good, but it gives the appearance to many that the discussion of topics is not as transparent as it would be if it were conducted at a regular monthly town board meeting.  That is where a larger group of people attend.

Plus, at the workshops, we “gallery folk” were to refrain from talking by order of the establishment. Then we were permitted to make a two-minute comment. This was aided by Councilwoman Amie Burnside’s suggestion, as she is a strong believer in transparency.

Remember, I was nice. I thanked the council people for that Christmas present. Currently, we, the people, can speak, most of the time, without the stopwatch.

Finally, I like the suggestion of candidate Rich Filkins in reference to the condition of the town hall and the enormous expense for repairs. I believe, in reference to tearing down the building, this decision should have been surveyed of all the taxpayers and voted on in addition to the degree of expense that was presented and defeated in the referendum vote.

We, the town residents, should have been included in the primary decisions: Did we want it torn down? If so, what type of choices did we want to consider? See that word, “transparency,” enters the picture again.

In closing, and having re-read my own letter, I’m truly amazed with some of the facts. It sounds to me like there is a lot wrong with this picture.

Do you think we should all sit down and read our country’s Constitution and Declaration of Independence? If so, do it before election time. The choice is yours and, by the way, I hope my letter was transparent enough.

Anita Marrone

Westerlo