BACK TO THE BUSINESS OF RUNNING THE TOWN

          Now that the police chief fiasco is over; well almost over, we have to get back to the business of running the town. I know the BoS are diligently writing up a list of requirements for Chief Bucknell to meet. I don’t know how long will it take them to officially tell her to clean up her room, play nice with the other officers and share her ammo? I imagine they’ll find a more sophisticated way of saying it so it doesn't look as ridiculous as it is, but it will mean the same thing. After almost five months of searching for a compelling reason to dismiss her; the BoS couldn't find anything to impugn the chief’s character. We think we've dodged a bullet, pardon the pun, but with the damage to the chief’s reputation she could still sue the town. I doubt that she would, but it’s not out of the realm of possibility.

          Now we can go on to other business, like the water company. The most recent FC meeting was lively and interactive. Citizens are actually showing up and participating in the fun. Charlie Flynn even graced them with his presence. The FC is moving right along with the audit. Tom Berkel was busy last week researching audit companies and he had several firms that he brought up for discussion. One of the most notable firms that he mentioned was Scanlon & associates. Tom gave a strong pitch for S&A because he thought they were well qualified. However, after much discussion it was decided that because S&A does the regular audits for the town that they may not be the best choice for doing the operational audit. Even Charlie thought it might be a good idea to get a newer set of eyes for this audit. I guess there are a lot of other good firms to choose from, so NEXT.

          Speaking of Charlie, I have to say that he is really taking a proactive role in getting the WC on the right path. Not that being outspoken is new to Charlie but this issue has become a pet project for him. Finally we see some outrage over the town’s loss of over 200k$ and a disgraced employee trying to dictate the terms of his employment.  There was a lot of discussion about the WC administrator at tonight’s BoS meeting. On the up side he has finally retired, well sort of; but The BoS can’t vote to approve it because they don’t know if he’s volunteering his time for the month of July at no cost to the town. According to the water commissioners there is a deal that this employee will do the job while “retired” but receive comp time when he is rehired Apparently “comp Time” is technically considered, income which would mean that this employee is not really retired. A retiree is supposed to stop working for at least 30 days before they can reapply to be employed by the town again. Charlie says he doesn't even know if he would vote to rehire this person. I guess it doesn't matter though, Mary and Bruce would likely vote to bring him back even with his indiscretions’.

          The battle between the BoS and WC is far from over. In fact, it's going to start heating up. The water commissioners have stopped making claims that the BoS are dragging their feet on setting up the billing at town hall. Their new pitch is that it would cost over 10k to switch the software. Charlie said all he needs is a couple of hand tools and he can have it switched over for next to nothing. He said the town owns the software and equipment so he may just go up to the water plant, pull the hard drive and clone it. Good for you Charlie, do whatever it takes to get the job done. It’s good to see that the BoS are defining the role of the selectmen as opposed to the Water commissioners. The BoS do the hiring and firing of any town employee. In actuality the BoS has quite a bit of authority over the day to day details of the water company. Too bad it cost the town so much for them to figure it out. But on the bright side Charlie is on the case and he will make sure the best interest of the citizens of Egremont will be served.

          I don’t think I’ll be able to make the Thursday 7:30 am BoS meeting so hopefully someone with a video and or voice recorder will show up to bear witness. The BoS will be talking about the terms and conditions of the new WC retiree/hire, another person being hired for the WC and the chief of police. If you can be there please show up and video and or voice record the proceeding . If all else fails then at least take notes so we have more than the BoS minutes to go on. Talk to you later and have a great week in the heat.

KevinZurrin