Members of the Board of Selectmen in Salem, N.H., seem unwilling to understand the furor surrounding their meeting in a North Andover law office last week.
Worse yet is some board members' characterization of those who objected to the out-of-town meeting as the usual cranks who criticize everything.
It really shouldn't be that hard to understand why members of the public might object to the meeting of a public board in another state, unless the selectmen are being deliberately obtuse. A government board that serves the public interest should strive at all times to be maximally accessible to the public. Instead, by meeting in North Andover, the selectmen made it as difficult as they could for the public to attend their long-term planning session.
In fact, that was the board's stated goal in holding a meeting somewhere other than its usual quarters at Town Hall. The board, at the suggestion of Town Manager Jonathan Sistare, held its meeting off-site to get away from the "distractions" of Town Hall.
And just what might those "distractions" be? Is there a brass band rehearsing next door? Or are the "distractions" the citizens of Salem who show up at selectmen's meetings and sometimes ask difficult questions?
There is absolutely nothing wrong with the selectmen and the town manager holding a "brainstorming" session. In fact, it's a pretty good idea for any organization to look to the future and seek ways to cope with its challenges. The selectmen rightly noted that such planning meetings are a regular occurrence in the business community and these sessions are frequently held at unfamiliar locations to spark the creative process.
All true. However, the selectmen must accommodate one factor that private businesses do not: Selectmen's meetings must be open and accessible to the public.
Selectmen Chairman Beth Roth said the board met that requirement when it met at her North Andover law office last Friday from 4 to 7 p.m. The meeting was posted, and the public was welcome to attend. Sistare had earlier obtained a legal opinion that the meeting was allowed. Roth insisted the session was "absolutely to the letter legal."
No doubt the brainstorming session did follow the letter of the law on open meetings. But it trampled all over its spirit.
The public may have been welcome to attend the North Andover meeting. But a meeting on a late Friday afternoon in an unfamiliar town is unlikely to get much of a turnout.
Roth offered the use of her North Andover office to save the taxpayers the expense of renting a room. Was there no facility in all of Salem willing to provide selectmen a meeting place at a nominal cost?
Roth and Selectman Michael Lyons both said the criticism of the meeting was coming from the same group of people who criticize everything town leaders do. That's disingenuous at best and mean-spirited at worst.
Some Salem residents may be vocal critics of town leadership. They may even be ornery at times. That's their right, and for selectmen, taking criticism comes with the turf.
It was unfair of the selectmen to dismiss legitimate criticism of a meeting designed to limit public participation as more of the same old gripes.
