BTA Member Letters to the editors of local newspapers:
To: Editor, Billerica Minuteman
I am writing to respond to two Op-Ed columns. The first was written by the Editor in his column that appeared on October 16, 2008 titled “Town Meeting Turbulence”. I am specifically referring to the last paragraph when he referred to a motion that was made to dissolve Town Meeting. The editor then made the incorrect assumption that this was a motion to not have a Town Meeting form of government. That certainly was not the case. The motion to dissolve is not the same as abolish. The motion was made to end Town Meeting so that we would not act on any of the Warrant articles, thereby effectively voting no on all articles and leaving the roughly $2.4 million dollars of free cash unspent. This would have left the town with roughly 5 per cent of its total spending ( roughly $130 million) in reserve accounts. This is at the low end of where we should be especially heading into an economic down turn. Some of us “hardy few” thought it would be more prudent to wait until the spring when we have a better picture of the economy as the down turn had just started. Instead we now have roughly 3 per cent in reserve.
The second Op- Ed piece I am writing about is the one titled, “The Hardy Few”, dated November 6, 2008. I find it amusing that someone who has served on the Fin Com for as long as Mr. Gagliardi has still doesn’t know its role. Anyone can find this out. It is real simple. Just go up to the Town Clerk’s office and get a copy of the Town’s General Bylaws. You may even be able to view them on the Town’s website as well. I would like to refer everyone to Article 12 Sec. 1; it is the duty of the Fin Com to:
Art.12 Sec1 A: Serve as fiscal advisory body to Town Meeting
Art. 12 Sec. 7 states that the committee shall carefully consider each warrant article and prepare a written report of their investigations. Art.12 Sec.7-A : The report shall state if they do or do not recommend the article for passage and their reasons for doing so.
I have been at Town Meeting for five years now and I have never seen a written report from the Fin Com in the Warrant. My father served on the Fin Com in the 1970′s and he told me that these reports were part of the warrant that every town meeting member received as well as the full detailed budget. Town Meeting members do not get this anymore. We are told that there is one copy at the library. So am I to understand that 240 Town Meeting members are to fight over one budget book.
I also find it amusing that the writer does not like legal parliamentary procedures used to help guarantee free speech and make sure an opposing view point is heard when some of us walked out of Town Meeting. The writer probably was not around when this was used a lot more during Town Meeting than it is today.
Mr. Mollison wrote about Mr. Gagliardi chastising Town Meeting members for not showing up for Fin Com Meetings, and Mr. Gagliardi denied this. Instead, he stated that he has encouraged Town Meeting members to take tours of town facilities and attend hearings. Mr. Gagliardi’s history starts in the 2006 Fall Town Meeting. He has conveniently forgotten what he used to say to Town Meeting prior to the fall of 2006. I wrote a letter asking for the Fall Fin Com schedule and the minutes of their meetings. The minutes were never sent to me as per Mass. Law and the schedule and agenda also was not sent to me. Instead, instructions on how to find the Fin Com schedule was sent instead. I might want to add that I also did the same thing for the School Committee hearings and a schedule was mailed to me for the rest of 2006.
I also would like to remind Mr. Gagliardi that if it wasn’t for the “hardy few” this great country of ours would not have happened as only 33 per cent supported going to war with England. In more recent times after US House Speaker Pelosi recessed the US House for the elections a few “hardy” souls stayed behind to debate off shore drilling for oil and drilling in ANWR. Madame Speaker cut the power to C- Span then cut the power to the House itself, as is her right. The “hardy few” kept on debating to have this as part of the Congressional Record. Since then gas prices have gone down by over 50 per cent. If it wasn’t for the “hardy few” we would not be living in the greatest country known to mankind. We would not have the freedoms and liberties that we have. We certainly would not be having this debate and expressions of our opinions. Be careful of anyone ridiculing the “hardy few” liberty may not be where his heart and mind are.
In Liberty,
Anthony M. Ventresca
