Musings On Hamilton Government

by Jack Lawrence,

Former Co-Chair, Government Study Committee

As we approach our annual town election for Selectman and other posts, it seems opportune to explore how things are going with our new form of government after 4 years.

Let’s begin by looking at why we made the change.  With 3 selectmen and a town administrator without authority to make day to day decisions, little was being accomplished.  There was a “to do” list of some 250 items that was growing by the day and government was bogged down in the police scandal and a loss of confidence in the administration of the schools.  Clearly, everybody’s business was nobody’s business, and a greater measure of professionalism was needed to assist our volunteer leaders.  Also, as we lurched from crisis to crisis, override to override, we needed a multi-year plan with financial projections 3, 5, and 10 years out that would provide some context for decision making.  The idea was that the plan would be debated and evolve annually to accommodate the changing environment.  Those who sought to participate in this debate could do so by serving on a town board or by speaking up at the BOS or Town Meetings.  We used to have “all-boards” meetings to discuss such issues, and while they never brought about an effective planning process, they did spawn the Government Study Committee (GSC).

The new structure proposed by the GSC envisioned a 5 member BOS recognizing that selectmen being volunteers were limited in the amount of time they could devote to their duties.  By having 5, each could be responsible for keeping up with some component of town life and keep fellow selectmen apprised on happenings in the schools, recreation, development and the Planning Board, etc.  This intimacy would allow them collectively to articulate a vision for the town as a basis for planning.  To build those multi-year  projections, refine assumptions, assign numbers, and to manage day-to-day operations of the town, the position of Town Manager (TM) was created.  That person was authorized to supervise and manage “all town departments and employees under the jurisdiction of the BOS and coordinate their activities with those of all other departments and employees”.  This clearly separated responsibility for the police, for example, who are under the BOS, from such as the Planning Board which is separately elected and controlled by state statute.  In having this authority delegated by the BOS, however, the Town Manager was specifically prohibited from setting policy.  That was the duty of the BOS, and it was their responsibility annually to measure the activities of the Town Manager against those policies.

Unfortunately, this governing format has never been implemented.  There is no policy framework, written or otherwise, to which the Town Manager can refer and no planning process has ever been put into motion.  Instead, the Town Manager has taken the initiative to address personnel issues and some immediate demands such as closing the dump and improving the water department.  The BOS majority have concerned themselves with what they have perceived as targets of opportunity while ignoring or chastising their two colleagues.  Without a plan in place, nothing is being done about affordable housing, obsolescent school buildings, the implications of a declining school population or myriad other issues and the tax rate continues to go up despite the recovery of funds from the schools.  We continue to lurch from one annual town meeting to the next rather than planning for our future.  It is a dismal picture which will not improve until selectmen are elected who have experience in town government and have read and understand what the legislature empowered us to do back in 2009.