Letter to the Editor: 'Wenham has Lived Through Much More Difficult Times'

To the Editor: 

In regard to the proposal to merge the Hamilton and Wenham finance departments, I urge the following:

Wenham should maintain its own Finance Director - actually just a Treasurer-Collector is required - and certainly should not rush into a joint program until and if: 1) the job is properly posted

2) the $230,000 software conversion grant is obtained

3) a full vetting with costs and savings in public hearings is obtained, and

4) both town meetings vote approval.

No matter what the future holds for Jeff Chelgren, Wenham should not merge the Town Administrator/Manager function with Hamilton.

Wenham should revisit the ECO decision since no more than a shovel of dirt has been removed from the site.

A full accounting of all current joint programs, formal and informal, should be made public.

The current seat of the pants management style needs to be replaced with less fast tracking and more thoughtful analysis. More decisions should be brought to Town Meeting before the execution of inter-municipal agreements, not just after a Board of Selectmen vote.

Wenham has lived through much more difficult times over the past 368 years and can certainly survive the current problems.

Harriet Davis

Wenham