Good Luck Advisory Budget Committee
The Citizen July 8th, 2009
Editor, The Citizen:
The Moultonborough selectmen and school board have finally appointed the Advisory Budget Committee (ABC). The three appointees (Jean Beadle, Ed Marudzinski and Gary Haracz) are well qualified and will be doing an incredible amount of work in the inaugural year of this effort. They will not only have the budgeting recommendations to work towards, but they will be establishing precedence with almost every step they take. Knowing two of the three appointees, I have no doubt they will take their charge very seriously. If this new effort is like most similar efforts, I am sure they will have stumbling blocks of resistance to overcome along the way. I only hope that they will not be discouraged and that the road to success for this committee will be smoother that I expect. I further hope that any resistance does not come from the above mentioned boards. It was, remember, a town meeting change (late night) in the warrant article that asked for an "elected budget committee" that made this committee "appointed" and so therefore it exists at the will of the two boards…
neither of which wanted it to begin with. Their history of reluctance in giving up such powers has reared its head in the past.
The board representatives to the ABC would be wise to work with the appointees and to help them in any way they can; and then stand out of their way for the nuts and bolts of the work they have to do.
This ABC is a huge step forward for the residents and taxpayers of Moultonborough. Beyond the various governing boards, administrators, department heads and power brokers in town, this committee is the first opportunity for the taxpayers to have another set of mostly unbiased eyes looking at how our tax dollars are spent. I congratulate the appointees and wish them great success. It is through their efforts and successes that we MAY have the opportunity to step from an "advisory" budget committee to an elected budget committee with full power and responsibility. However, when asked if this would happen, Ms. Whitley, most recent past chair of the Moultonborough School Board, said that after the annual meetings the school board and board of selectmen will be "asked for their input as to what went well and what didn't, that's when we'll decide". I hope for the sake of volunteerism this is not an exercise in futility. I want to thank the appointees for stepping forward to volunteer their services. This is Proof (with a capitol P) that volunteerism is not dead in Moultonborough as has been indicated by some that should know better.
While I am excited at the prospects that are at our door step, I am holding on to hope with tired fingers that these generous volunteers will be allowed to do the work needed to be done to give us sensible budgets and reasonable spending in the town and school district and their various departments.
The next thing that needs to be done to bring Moultonborough from the Colonial Era of small town manipulations into the 21st century of open and transparent government is to allow ALL voters the right to vote on ALL issues before the town. SB2 is the only way that this will be accomplished
.
Rick Heath
Moultonborough
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