Near the end of last night’s council meeting, Bernie Bailey started a discussion about the fire negotiations with Morris-Turnberry. Councillors discussed the issue, and tried to figure out where they went wrong. Reeve Neil Vincent, and a few Councillors, stated that they have not done a good enough job communicating and being transparent. This discussion is the polar opposite of a few months ago, when NH Council referred to Morris-Turnberry as bullies making demands, and refused to meet with them.
This is literally the first time one could feel some pride in how Council functioned. Councillors were objective, and openly discussed where they thought things went wrong, and how they could improve. Council agreed to invite M-T to another meeting, and suggested they be completely transparent. One Councillor said the meeting should be closed to the public, as they would be discussing financials. Another Councillor quickly and respectfully stated that the public and press have the right to be there; this led to consensus that the public and press would be invited, as it would not be legal to exclude them.
Earlier in the meeting, Brock Vodden read a proposed letter to be sent to several organizations. A few Councillors suggested the wording needed to be changed to ensure the message was clear and had the right tone. Mr. Vodden seemed genuinely appreciative of the input of his fellow Councillors, changed the wording, and even looked pleased with the new letter.
All of Council was working together as a team, and there were no emotional outbursts. Councillors set their egos aside, and seemed to be blessed with a new sense of objectivity. Hopefully Council will maintain this objectivity when they meet with Morris-Turnberry, and will treat them like the valued customers they are.
If Council had an open discussion at every meeting on how to improve our community, it would definitely help get our municipality back on track.
Until Council has the courage to objectively investigate why some of our departments MPMP numbers are 2-3X that of surrounding areas, the tax burden on families struggling to survive will not be lowered.