Distractions

Once again, the issue of a town board raise is front and center. This time in the guise of Community Committee formation to offer insights. WHAT? This is just plain crazy…and wholly unnecessary. Personally, I find it insulting.

The Town of Rotterdam has an unfortunate penchant for committee formation to address problems. While on the surface appearing as a genuine attempt to involve more citizens in the process of decision-making, it is a device more often used to diffuse criticism for the already predetermined decision. In this instance, the Town Board has made it abundantly clear it wants a raise and was sorely disappointed when it was denied recently. There is no need for a committee to study it and make recommendations. All aspects to this issue are more rightly considered during public budgetary hearings.

Let’s examine a few recent committee failures instituted by the Town. The most infamous was the Corridor Advisory Board (CAB) that was formed to make planning recommendations. Their recommendations turned out to be contentious, running counter to what the Town Board had decided independently to pursue. The Water Advisory Board (WAB), convened to systematically address several drainage issues in town, met similar resistance. Lastly, the Masullo Estates Advisory Committee was sanctioned to coordinate remediation in that subdivision but was only convened by the Town once.

The point is that forming committees to help address needs is terrific if their suggestions are ultimately factored in the solutions. However, more often than not, these committees are simply used as tools to give the appearance of progress being made when in fact, it isn’t.

I’m all for active citizen involvement but this proposed committee simply isn’t needed. The fact that so much time and energy is being devoted to the issue of raises is discouraging. It’s a distraction. It’s time to get back to the real problems plaguing our town and take real action to address them. Let’s get back to the business that matters.