Letter to the Editor: Old Town Hall Letters — Bethel Action Committee Responds
Letter to the Editor: Old Town Hall Letters — Bethel Action Committee Responds
Editor’s note: The following letter to the editor was sent in from Billy Michael, founder and president of the Bethel Action Committee, Bethel, CT. The opinions expressed in the Letters to the Editor column are the viewpoint of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the viewpoint of Bethel Buzz or its editor.
The current emotional outpouring and vigorous debate over the fate of the Old Town Hall/Teen Center reveals just how divided the citizenry of Bethel is on this issue. Each point of the debate represents the tip of a multi-faceted iceberg of point/counterpoint. This letter addresses some of the procedural questions that have surfaced.
While Bethel’s Town Charter does not outline a specific procedure regarding the demolition of town buildings out Town Meeting form of government guarantees that the townspeople are the ultimate decision makers concerning municipal affairs. The legislative powers of the town are vested in the Town Meeting and the Board of Selectmen. The Charter’s multiple provisions describing the petition process for Special Town Meetings and the Override of Decisions by Board of Selectmen make it abundantly clear that the citizenry assembled at Town Meeting/Referendum are coequal to the Board of Selectmen.
Although we elect citizens to “represent” us, the Charter limits the power of these duly-elected “representatives” and allows the electorate to respond when elected officials take actions deemed harmful or inconsistent with the general welfare of the town, without having to wait for the next municipal election. These safeguards were put in place by our nations’ founders, who were very much aware of the tendency of those who govern to disregard the will of the governed.
Allowing three Selectmen to dispose of public property without prior public approval sets a dangerous precedent. Voters were promised that the Old Town Hall/Teen Center would remain. At that time, it was way to garner voter support for a costly library renovation. By the same token, voter approval should now be required to effect their major change of plans.
If we, the Bethel taxpayers, had not exercised our petition rights, we would essentially have yielded power to every future Town Attorney to justify every future Board of Selectmen’s power play. In effect, we would be giving future Boards of Selectmen the power to dispose of any town property where the project was financed through State grants which bypass the oversight of the Board of Finance and the voters.
This past winter various citizens called for either a Town Meeting or a Referendum on this polarizing issue at multiple Board of Selectmen meetings. After pressure was put on them by concerned citizens, a Public Hearing was conducted on March 21, 2012, the results of which only confirmed the lack of consensus for demolition of the Old Town Hall/Teen Center.
There was ample time and reason for the selectmen to add the demolition question of to the May 17 budget referendum ballot at minimal cost to the taxpayer but there was no support for measuring voter sentiment on this issue. We are fortunate that those who preceded us left a process by which a voting bloc of citizens (546 petition signers) could restrain their elected representatives when they act without voter consent. We are also fortunate that Bethel has a citizenry that reacts when our two major political parties choose to exclude the voter from the Town’s decision-making process.
Posted on July 10, 2012, in Home and tagged Bethel Action Committee, Bethel CT referendum, Bethel Old Town Hall, Bethel CT Razing Old Town Hall. Bookmark the permalink. 2 Comments.
Bull. This is about finishing the Town Library after a decade, pure and simple. Stop playing partisan politics and do the right thing for once in your life.
Billy, I love as a friend, but I am really mad at you on this one. There are way too many pros than cons on this issue, and you and your crowd just cost the town $8,000 when you know we desperately need parking in that area. We need to keep that asset, and the tiny return that you guys want on that piece of cr** for sale is fiscally irresponsible. That corner is a jewel, and should remain town property. Please start to think “LONG TERM,” and not focus on the short term revenue, which will be irrelevant in the scheme of things. Where were you guys when we tried to get $$ to fix it years ago. Oh I remember, “JUST SAY NO!” It is time to stop being an antagonist, and be a progressive!!! Stop sweating the small stuff!
LISA ALLABY