Town Wind a Chemistry Challenge

The town election is over in Falmouth and the community has two new Selectmen.  Troy Clarkson’s article in the local columnist print titled “New Chemistry at the Corner Conference Table” devotes a large dose of optimism towards the new board's composition.  It’s no secret Falmouth needs all the optimism it can garner given the board's recent actions.  Beyond the niceties of hopes and prayers, a review is in order regarding benchmark mandates for new and old members alike.  

Role of the individual Selectmen

The members’ statutory duties are to be performed, almost without exception, by the board as a whole. For example, the board, not individual members, must supervise administrative officers, formulate policies, and exercise town charter powers.  Members should devote their official time to problems of basic policy and act as liaisons between town hall and the general public. Members should be concerned, not only with the conduct of daily affairs, but also with the future development of Falmouth.  The most important single responsibility of a member is representing the community’s best interest at meetings. 

Role of the Board

The board has complete authority over establishing policies to be performed by the manager.  Among the major areas of board authority and responsibility, two that have obviously been in conflict of late:

• Managing the town’s financial operations

• Protecting the welfare of the town and its inhabitants

With due respect to Troy’s optimism, protecting the welfare of the town while equally protecting the basic welfare of all residents will require greater focus and a far better chemistry than balancing the wind energy budget with state subsidies.  Most certainly a focus beyond the wind blown hopes and prayers of the past board's budget fixation.