Board’s illegal actions have cost Berne money, time, and good will

To the Editor:

The recent decision by Berne’s town board at its Dec. 9, 2020 meeting, to disallow public comment, flies in the face of a basic tenet of our democracy.

Mat Harris, Dennis Palow, and Sean Lyons voted against a motion by Council Member Bonnie Conklin, seconded by Council Member Joel Willsey, to allow the public to speak at regular town board meetings.  In doing so, they have deprived the public of the opportunity to express their concerns, wishes, and needs to them.

In denying their constituents the right to speak, they fail to recognize they derive their power from the people, the very people they no longer want to hear from. They fail to recognize that they are representatives of these same people and should be responsive to them. The relationship between citizens and their elected government is a fine balance that requires respectful dialogue between them.

Most recently, there has been a good deal of dissent emanating from the public at these meetings. But there is a basis for this dissent: Concerns about a strangely constructed budget, the dismissal of volunteers and employees without cause, the abandonment of committees that have served the community for years, the failure to include one board member in their decisions because he’s a member of a different political party, egregious salary increases, actions that are poorly devised and constructed.

Central to these is the failure to consult with their constituents. They acted unilaterally, without talking with those individuals who made up the boards they dismissed, the employees they didn’t rehire, the committees working to obtain grants that would have saved the town thousands of dollars, and perhaps worst of all, with those individuals who understand and are familiar with town law.

The failure to consult others, to assume they could and should work single-handedly, has led them to undertake illegal actions that have cost the town money, time, and good will.

Ironically, Mat Harris who voted against allowing the public to speak, spoke frequently at town board meetings before being elected to office. His comments were met with respect, despite occurring after the public-comment period. That he will not afford the public that same right, now that he is in office, is wrong.

In a democracy, discussion, dissent, and compromise are indispensable. Without them, representative government fails.

Listening becomes essential. A democracy will always deal with divergent opinions.

The real skill comes in melding those divergent ideas into a cogent, thoughtful action that benefits most of the citizens represented.

Kevin Crosier, former town supervisor, used to say “Our best ideas come from our residents.”

In order to employ those ideas, it is necessary to first hear them. Mat Harris, Dennis Palow and Sean Lyons, by their vote, make clear they prefer to silence them.

When elected to office, voters trusted each council member to consider their opinions, to represent them, not act as the sole arbiters of every action. They expect fair and equal treatment, and a willingness to be heard. Mat Harris, Dennis Palow, and Sean Lyons have chosen not to honor that trust.

The decision to disallow public comment at town board meetings needs to be rescinded at the very next town board meeting.

Karen Schimmer

Berne

Editor’s note: Karen Schimmer was a Berne Town Board member who did not seek re-election last November.

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