The Issues
Your Feedback
I have my own views and perspectives, but I am only one resident. I seek to learn the views and perspectives of all of the other residents I can reach. I believe there is inherent value in the knowledge and experience of others and I would love to hear from you, even if we disagree on the issues. Sometimes the best feedback comes from someone who isn’t worried about offending you. Contact me and tell me what you think.
Forums, Public Comment, and Agendas
There has been a trend of changes in town being made with little opportunity for public comment or input:
-The new installation of crosswalk islands on Main Street with no public forum.
-The approval of funding for the design work for Complete Streets redesign of Main Street with no forum.
-A forum for the debt exclusion for roadwork announced via social media a week beforehand and held just two days before Town Meeting.
-No public comment periods at Board of Selectmen (and many other boards) meetings except those required by state law.
-Refusal by the Chairman of the Board of Selectmen to put items asked for by Selectmen and residents on the Agenda so that they cannot be publicly discussed.
This conduct was largely responsible for the recent argument at the Board of Selectmen and a feeling on the part of many residents that their views and input are not valued at town hall. Main Street has existed in its present form for over a hundred years; I think we can take some time for residents to decide how they want it to be in the future and not rush through big changes. Most importantly, if the town treats residents with indifference when they want to offer their views, then later when the town needs residents to approve extra spending many respond with hostility.
The town needs to have well advertised forums for public comment on all major proposals well in advance of votes or actions on them. Open meetings need to have public comment for input and if I am elected as Selectmen, I will push for public comment at Board of Selectmen Meetings. If the Board does not agree, then I will hold my own forums for the public with whoever from the Board of Selectmen is willing to attend.
Resident Participation
I have been at town meeting when the start is delayed due to not having the minimum quorum of 100 voters. Many town elections have voter totals in the low hundreds when there are over 8 thousand registered voters in the town. Town meeting is barely advertised and the town administration makes no serious effort to reach out to residents to get them involved (Update: Thank you to all those who signed the petition for election announcements! As of September 22nd the town announced the upcoming town meeting and special election in the semiannual mailer sent to residents). Rather than cultivate volunteers and resident involvement the town administration buries the volunteer applications of residents while board seats remain unfilled.
What we have in our Town Meeting government is a direct democracy of the residents that should be cherished and reinforced rather than viewed as a nuisance and left in neglect by the town administration. I am in the process of traveling all of the streets and roads of Oxford to get more residents involved in their town and it is an effort I plan to continue even after I am elected.
Budget Transparency
Residents should not have to walk into Town Meeting and only then be confronted by dozens of pages of budget information that they are expected to vote on with mere minutes to review them.
-After my first Town Meeting I asked the Town Manager if the information could be posted on the town’s website prior to the meeting so that residents could have time to review it, which has not yet occurred.
-Before my second Town Meeting I called the Town Manager’s office to request the budget in the days prior to so that I could review it and was told I would get it at the meeting.
-Before my third Town Meeting I called the Finance Department 6 days before Town Meeting to request a copy of the budget. The phone was not answered and I left a message. The next day the Town Manager’s office returned my call and told me they “weren’t sure” if they could email me a copy since the hard copies were still out for printing. The following Monday afternoon (just 2 days before Town Meeting) they emailed me a copy.
Per the Oxford Town Charter Chapter 8, Section 4, 8-4-1:
“The finance committee shall conduct one or more public meetings on the proposed budget and shall issue its recommendations in print and make copies available to the voters at least seven days prior to the May session of the annual town meeting.” (emphasis mine)
What is the point of having a Charter if the town administration ignores it? We need Selectmen that uphold the Charter and that is why I am running.
The Town Manager
The Town Manager still does not reside in the town 3 years after first taking office. I live 2 blocks from the property she purchased on Wheelock street and pass it multiple times a day in the morning and at night as I come and go from the town. There are no people or vehicles there most of the time or a vehicle will be left for a week at a time or more without ever moving. The Town Manager was also still registered to vote in Sutton as of April of this year. Many registered voters and multiple members of the Board of Selectmen have raised this issue, but the Board is deadlocked without a 5th member and unable to act.
Per the Oxford Town Charter Chapter 5, Section 2, 5-2-2
“In selecting a town manager, the board of selectmen shall conduct a nationwide search for candidates, including an advertisement in a then current nationwide town manager publication. The town manager need not be a resident of the town when appointed, but he shall take up residence within eight months following his appointment.” (emphasis mine)
This provision of the Charter was upheld by voters in 2018. Again, why do we have a Charter if it isn’t enforced? You should see a pattern starting to develop.
Update: As of September 9th, the Town Manager has registered to vote in and resides in Oxford. Thank you to all of you who signed the petition to enforce the residency requirement!
Members of the Board of Selectmen that have attempted to raise questions about the conduct of the Town Manager in the performance of their duties have been personally and professionally attacked by the Town Manager and the Chair of the Board of Selectmen (see Town Manager's Annual Review) Again, with the Board deadlocked nothing can be done about it.
Town Code Enforcement
-The current Town Manager has a policy of using code enforcement as a means of extracting revenue out of residents and businesses to augment the town budget as declared in numerous Board of Selectmen meetings (available at: https://www.youtube.com/c/TownofOxfordMA/videos).
-Enforcement of safety codes should not be used as a pretense for other motives of the town government or its employees.
-State law provides specific requirements for how and when enforcement should occur and what enforcement is done by whom. Those requirements should be followed.
-You shouldn’t need a lawyer to deal with town hall. The town administration should be trying to resolve issues by trying to “get to yes”.
-Town boards and departments should recognize that residents and small business owners are often not deeply familiar with all of the permits and requirements for all activities in the town and should be helping them comply rather than throwing additional roadblocks in their way.
Town code enforcement, like all of the town government, exists by the will of the residents to serve the interests of the residents. The town administration needs to remember that. Actions that are excessively punitive only serve to suppress local business and run residents out of town. I have heard from far too many residents and seen too many open meetings to believe the current state of town code enforcement is acceptable. The town administration at all levels should be trying to address the issues of other residents, while walking the “violator” or applicant through necessary approvals rather than tossing them at the increasingly byzantine network of boards and departments to be penalized and fend for themselves.