UPDATEPLEASE READ MY MEMO UNDER COMMENTS WHICH WAS DISCUSSED AT THE OCTOBER 6 SELECTMEN'S MEETING. The draft document proposing a Code of Conduct and Ethics is at its very final stage of preparation. I hope to find agenda time in early October to discuss it with my board members. This Code will serve you, the citizen, by giving you reasonable expectations in how your elected public officials conduct themselves. I don't imply that we are ripe with unethical behaviors in Littleton; I do imply there is value in clearly defining the expectations for all to see and judge us upon...stay tuned. A dog sometimes barks as a forewarning, take notice, pay attention…you might get bitten! Our little Barking Dog issue on King Street is similar…the analogy is somewhat uncanny. As many people know, the recent actions of the Littleton Zoning Board of Appeals have caught the attention of the townspeople concerning the Barking Dog proposal on King Street. This post takes a look at the sort of irony in this situation.
There are two issues here that summarize the citizen input I have received: the appropriateness of the ZBA changing residentially-zoned property to commercially-zoned at the behest of a proponent; and a standard of conduct that raises questions as to the motivations of certain public officials who are involved in the matter.
First, the ZBA is empowered to change zoning; this can be modified by a Town Meeting vote. (T
he majority of people, by the way, think that Town Meeting is the only way to change zoning; it’s not, the ZBA does have this power in certain cases.) Isn't it the voter's choice? It certainly should not be the choice of developers and their agents. I don’t have a clear answer, so I think a dialog on this is essential. I am in favor of a very public discussion (this will begin on
September 15th at the BOS meeting) with a culmination of it all at a Town Meeting. At that point, the intent of our zoning bylaws can be made clear.
The second matter, the conduct and ethical behavior of public officials, is one of great concern to me. I don’t know if there was factual impropriety or not in this matter. That is currently in the hands of the State Ethics Commission and I presume once that process is over, the Board can deliberate, determine and act as necessary. But, have we put ourselves in a position where the public is questioning our conduct and ethical standards?
In any small town, there are a lot of dedicated volunteers who by virtue of the small town spirit get involved in many activities and volunteer boards. Unfortunately, at times, this involves people with local financial interests as well. Inevitably, there are times when an actual or appearance of a conflict of interest will surface. In order to ensure an adequate stream of volunteers running our government, the law recognizes this may, from time to time, occur. Once you get into the law it is clear on how to deal with these situations. (
The first mistake might have been designating ZBA members as “Special Municipal Employees” a status that allows for a certain amount of protection for the official who has more than one duty or interest.) I ask, do we want professionals with a local financial interest in zoning to act on matters of zoning? The age-old argument is that they bring expertise otherwise not available. Perhaps that was true years ago, but Littleton certainly has grown and the pool of educated volunteers has grown commensurately. So why do we even flirt with this potential appearance of conflicting interests? Don’t we have enough trouble trying to overcome the generally negative overtones of the politics of governing and the image and trust factor of public officials?
Let’s be frank here. There are numerous examples to look at from a public perception point of view; this Barking Dog issue does not stand alone. I believe that if the folks in these positions were given a clear standard of higher expectations, more stringent than current laws, they would act accordingly. We can hope. So why not let that barking dog spur us into action, action to more definitively ensure that we, your public officials, strive to earn your trust. Senator McCain (not endorsing Presidential candidates here) said something that struck a cord; something to the effect, “I don’t work for Washington, I don’t work for special interests, I work for you.” That is true here as well;
we work for you, you have to trust us and we have to earn it. So I am currently working on a proposal that I hope will be adopted by the Board of Selectmen.
Soon,
I will be proposing this Standard of Conduct and Ethics for the Town of Littleton which will promote a greater sense of ethical awareness consistent with State law, but also enhanced and easy to understand. The goal of improved public trust will be at the forefront! Of course, this document will be available and published for the public when completed. It will be a set of standards and ethics that you can understand, hold us to, and most importantly, come to expect from your officials. Keep watching...the first draft is near ready. I am eager to open up a dialog on it and you will find it posted here once I submit it to my Board for comment and discussion. I am striving to adopt these initially for the Board of Selectmen and its appointees, and ultimately as a
Unified Code of Conduct and Ethics for all town boards and entities.I don’t know how could anyone say no to a set of clear statements and requirements to follow that will ensure your trust, set the bar for our behavior and raise confidence that all public officials hold high standards and ethical values. We shall see. I have attempted this before…keep watching.
