Column for August 16, 2012

When considering the role of government and the different levels of government in place, perhaps the most basic, most flexible, and most important is that at the municipal level.  Town and city governments are perhaps the closest to their citizens and can affect the citizens more favorably or adversely than any other.  I once discussed this concept with a representative of the National Rifle Association.  I was informed that the NRA didn’t want to get involved in advocacy at the municipal level because gun rights issues were usually being debated at the national and state government levels.  The irony was that during this period of time, the NRA was relocating their annual convention because of Cincinnati’s (the proposed host city) anti-gun ordinances.  Local governments can affect your roads, garbage removal, property tax rates, your fire protection and insurance rates, where you can locate your business, and a host of other issues.  In our area, towns even affect electricity rates.

In Smithfield, the local town council seems to have forgotten about their recent history of personnel and administrative issues.  That elected body is standing by the decision by their town manager, Paul Sabiston, to hire Tim Kerigan of Gulf County, Florida as their new Human Resources Director.  Apparently, Misters Sabiston and Kerigan knew each other while working in Florida.  Though I can appreciate hiring someone you know, I have seen that concept go horribly awry before.  When I worked for the state, I saw a dean at NCSU hire a police chief with whom he used to work at a much smaller college.  I served on the committee to screen and interview candidates for police chief, and the new chief selected by that dean was at the bottom of the committee’s preference list.  That was a horrible hiring decision that ended in misuse of state funds, careers being adversely affected, and a lot of negative publicity.  I watched the news stories on television about the utter shame and scandal in that department years after I left.

One would think that the last thing that Smithfield would want is negative publicity.  However, I have read plenty of it over the hiring of Tim Kerigan.  After so many scandals in Smithfield Town Hall over pay raises, abuse of town policies, and misuse of town funds, you would think that the town leaders would not allow the hire of a man who was fired from his last government job for misuse of county funding and inappropriately funneling government business to his brother’s company.  To top it off, he has never held a job as a human resources director before.  Other applicants were turned down for having only private industry HR experience whereas Mr. Kerigan has none.  Importing a “good ol’ boy” with a record of financial misdealings and ethical problems into a town government that has been plagued with financial misdealings and ethical problems does not seem like a good idea to me.

On to a different town we go.  One of the reasons I decided not to seek another term on the Selma Planning Board was that I believed more in freedom and property rights than the town council did.  Often my vote was contrary to their decisions and those of my fellow board members.  In Selma, the town is considering placing restrictions on daycare businesses in the downtown area.  Apparently, two businesses have applied to operate daycare centers in the downtown business district and have been denied.  This is ostensibly for reasons of safety and traffic.

Let’s be honest.  The only traffic jams we have in Selma is when a train is coming through town.  Downtown Selma is not exactly a major metropolitan center.  We don’t have a problem with an overabundance of vehicles at any time.  I can’t really buy the concept of safety being the issue.  It seems to be more of an issue of control than one of safety to me.

I understand systematic citywide planning.  Heck, it was part of one of my college courses and as I said, I was on the town’s planning board.  However, when we have ordinances that hinder rather than encourage business, we are not necessarily helping the town.  Zoning laws can easily become just as much a form of a soft tyranny as federal regulations in the name of safety, environmental protection, or public health.  If the town keeps getting harder to deal with for business, we won’t see the town expanding; it will continue to shrink.

Municipal governments can be a great boon to its citizens.  Unfortunately, it can also be a source of scandal, control, and frustration.

Column for Nov. 17, 2011

I did not get to watch the municipal election results as they came in on television last week. I got home from vacation on Monday, and tried the best I could to catch up with all the stuff one has to do when coming back to work after a week off. I did manage to wade through some 600 or 700 emails, handle some communications, pack a suit case, go vote at my neighborhood polling place, and eventually head to Durham. After working there for the afternoon, I took off for Charlotte, which is where I am as I write this column. I watched the election results via my laptop computer and the County Board of Elections web site. That was good enough for me.

I read the vote count for the Selma mayor’s race and the town council race. I checked several web sites for local news outlets, as well. One local news outlet got the reporting wrong and it is still wrong as of this writing. It said that we have three seats on the Selma Town Council and the mayor’s position that were filled in the election. The last I knew, we had two of four town council seats up for election every two years and the mayor up for election every election cycle.

Personally, I was glad to see the outcome of the mayoral race. I have made no secret of my dislike for the methods of leadership employed over the past six years. I don’t like bullies or dictatorial leadership. I don’t like forced annexation, tax hikes, corporate welfare incentives, or wasting money on frivolity.

Congratulations to Cheryl Oliver, our new mayor elect. I believe in giving praise where praise is due. Mrs. Oliver ran a good campaign, which I expected after seeing her previous campaign for town council. She has been articulate, willing to listen, and laid out her views. I have not always agreed with all of her views, but I can appreciate that she has been able to articulate and defend her views. I can only hope that Mrs. Oliver serves with the same enthusiasm and slant on things as she has shared with me in conversation.

I know that Tommy Holmes was out campaigning this year, probably more than previous years. On a personal level, I like Tommy Holmes. I wish that his message was deeper, broader, and more articulate than “don’t raise taxes”, but that message apparently resonated with voters. When I ran for town council six years ago, I was relatively unknown, could do little campaigning, and Mr. Holmes got just 14 more votes than I did. I compare that to the latest vote where he garnered more votes than anyone else, including an incumbent and a long time public servant and former councilman. He seems to have worked harder this election. I know that Tommy came by my home while I was on vacation and he got to speak with my mother-in-law, who was house, dog, and babysitting while my lovely bride and I were out of the country.

In looking over the election results for neighboring Wake County and was sad to see that Heather Losurdo lost her runoff election for the Wake County School Board. The boldness of the school board in reversing the insanity of busing children across the county may eventually be reversed with a progressive, liberal majority again in Wake County.

As I wrote, I was stuck in Charlotte for the night of the elections. In Charlotte, Democrats swept a huge majority for town council and won the mayoral race. There looks to also be a shake up in the Mecklenburg County School Board. I don’t know what Charlotte and Wake County voters are thinking, but apparently they have not yet had enough of higher taxes, high spending, and Communist like social engineering.

There is one thing that I do know. There is another election coming up in just a few months for the Presidential Primary season. Also, there is another municipal election coming in another two years. Two years after that, every person just elected for town council and boards of education will be up for re-election. Every few years, we get the chance to change course and fix wrongs. That is the wisdom of our republican form of government.

Column for Nov. 10, 2011

I wrote about voting with your feet several weeks ago. I just ran across another such instance. My lovely bride too the family automobile to an automotive service establishment for its routine service. I tend to have this performed on regular basis. For years, we have been taking our personal and my company vehicles there for oil changes.

With this particular establishment, I had taken my company vehicle there just a week prior for service. I noticed that the management and staff seemed to have changed since my last visit. Certainly the demeanor of the personnel and level of service I got was less than to which I was accustomed. Still, when the family mini-van needed service, my wife and I figured that this place would be fast, even though it was slightly higher priced than I like to pay.

When the wife came home with a bill of over $130 for an oil change, my curiosity was raised. The company had performed unauthorized service on our vehicle. When I called them to inquire about it, I was informed that my wife had authorized the work, which is something she emphatically denies. Knowing that my wife is not prone to telling falsehoods, I had confirmed with her ahead of the phone call as to the details of the experience. Basically, the manager there called my wife a liar. Well, they just lost my business, my company’s business, and that of my family and friends.

By the time this column is published, the local municipal elections will have taken place. Whether I wrote this weeks or a day in advance, I would not yet be able to comment on the results because of publishing deadlines. I want to know that a candidate is well informed, has looked at the issues, and shares most of my values before I will consider voting for him or her. I wrote earlier about not having found any election guides yet on the internet, but I read the one for the municipal election in the October 27th edition of “The Selma News”. I must admit that I was disappointed in what I read there. How in the world does someone running for local elected office turn down the opportunity to have their views published in the local newspaper? Three candidates only had, “Declined to comment” listed by their names. I can only assume that someone running for office believes that they can do better than the current crop of representatives already in office. That means that you have to convince voters of that concept. I specifically look for local candidate interviews and responses to issue questions.

Some of the candidates that did answer slightly disappointed me as well. On the one hand, one candidate “would like to see more police officers on the street and more programs for the senior citizens.” Then the same person says “under no circumstances I feel taxes should increase. I feel taxes should be decreased.” Well, we can’t have it both ways without substantial cuts in personnel and services elsewhere. We get the level of services for which we are willing to pay. If we are not willing to cut some services for the benefit of other ones we deem as more worthy and/or raise taxes, we can not afford more police on the streets.

Just about every candidate mentions the high rate of rental properties in town. I often wonder if this is a real issue to some, considering the rental property interests of some on the Town Council, but that is another issue. I agree that we have a disproportionate amount of renters in town. However, that will not change unless we make living in our “Charming Place to Be” enticing to new residents who would purchase homes.

All but two candidates discussed the need to keep taxes on the low end. One danced around the issue, and the other only stated that any tax increase would correspond to increased expenditures.

So, what does any of this have to do with the recent experience at an oil change shop? I just hope that we citizens and taxpayers don’t ask for one level of service, get something other than what we asked, and have to pay significantly more than we wanted or expected. If we do, more potential businesses and residents will be dissuaded from coming to our town.

Column for Nov. 4, 2011

It is an odd numbered year. Signs are all over town for local candidates, whether they are large plywood ones, cardboard ones, or plastic ones. It must be municipal election season. This is pretty much an open letter to any candidate running for municipal office, in any town, but primarily my own.

I don’t know the position of every candidate running for office in my hometown. There are incumbents who have a voting record that I have followed. There is at least one candidate from whom all I have ever heard expressed for years has been, “Don’t raise taxes”. There are candidates with whom I am not familiar and have heard nothing about their views. As of this writing, I have looked for articles and questionnaires about candidates, but so far nothing has been found. I am writing this column a few weeks ahead of time, so I can understand why that may be the case.

The first thing I would say to candidates is to not be afraid to do what you were elected to do. If you were elected to stop irresponsible spending, then do just that. If you were elected to keep the tax rate down, lower utility costs, etc., then stand firm and do it. Do not let bullying tactics and political pressure keep you down. I was telling two candidates that I really want to see an end to dictatorial style leadership in my town. They were in full agreement.

As a citizen, I am interested in eliminating the superfluous spending on stupid stuff. I commented years ago about how the Town of Selma has Christmas lights on all year long and was criticized for my stance that it is tacky, a waste of electricity, and unnecessary. I stand by those comments, especially when I drive through town at night and see so many strands and bulbs that are burned out or non-functional throughout downtown. What a waste. Other wasteful things were the hiring of consultants for an unused “streetscape” plan, for a proposed new town hall, and for someone just to apply for a historic neighborhood designation. The historic neighborhood designation would realistically only benefit those who had older homes and have their personal egos stroked by having a house so designated. Those thousands of dollars could have been much better spent on fixing sidewalks, cleaning up the curbsides of town streets so they are not jungle-like, and many other projects.

I keep hearing one common theme from citizens and the couple of candidates with whom I have had the pleasure of speaking. That is about lowering the high utility bills in our public power community. I agree that something needs to be done, but it is probably more involved than just trimming rates. In reality, we need to divest ourselves of the electricity business and let private industry take it over. There would be more regulatory protections, lower rates, and we would get the exact same product. By and large, if a business provider can be found in the phone book, we probably should not have government doing the job.

I am a big proponent of personal freedom and property rights, unless those rights infringe upon my own. This can apply to forced annexation and the extension of planning jurisdictional authority. We do not need to greedily bring in more square miles in order to grow our town. We need to offer a better climate for growth. It seems that there are some sorts of businesses we can’t keep going in town. We do need a better approach to downtown development. I was opposed to the all antiques, all the time concept fifteen years ago and still am, as just one example.

Speaking of business development, I am not a fan of incentive packages for business. We need to be judicious if we are going to use them at all. I read about an incentive package the Town of Selma is giving to a Wendy’s franchise to build at Exit 97 off the interstate. Quite honestly, it is a good location and a serious business would be building regardless of an incentive, but at least the package offered was not a huge one. If it goes awry, or even well, taxpayers can get the short end of the stick, as with Dell, Verizon, FedEx, and other businesses that relocate to North Carolina.

Even Sysco was a successful failure as an “incentive”. Though Sysco came to Selma, the company calls the Selma facility its Raleigh Division, the facility has not necessarily employed a bunch of Selma residents or attracted hundreds of people to live in Selma. Even their vice president bought his house in Clayton, not Selma. There is so much more that I could write, but brevity is not my friend this week.

So, candidates for public office, know that citizens are looking for common sense, fiscally responsible, and freedom loving governance. Hopefully, the citizenry will hold you accountable to these standards.

Column for Oct. 22, 2009

This may be the first municipal election since I have lived in Selma in which I may either not vote or may support a write-in candidate. I read last week's issue of "The Selma News" which had answers to questions posed at a candidates' forum. Quite honestly, I wish that there was such a forum the past several election cycles. Alas, one never came to pass.

I have to admit, I was eager to read the questions and answers. I was not able to attend the forum in person, since I already had to choose one of two scheduled activities that same evening. Thus, I was hoping to find a glimmer of hope for Selma's future in the newspaper. I was underwhelmed with what I read.

There is a reason I stopped going to regular town council meetings. I often had to sit and stew while watching the goings-on. Many times I wanted to shout out as if it were a session of British Parliament. I am not one to easily and quietly observe those things that just "chap my hide". Even after sitting on the council for years, one would think that incumbents would have highly educated answers. Fresh candidates should have an idea of how a municipal government works and its priorities rather than having copy cat, obviously politically correct, or uninformed answers to basic questions. I am going to pass along to all current candidates as well as ordinary citizens a good resource. The Center for Local Innovation, a division of The John Locke Foundation, is an excellent place to gain perspective about the priorities, needs, and role of local government. They are easily found on the internet.

There is a reason why I got the endorsement of a county wide newspaper when I ran for Selma Town Council. I paid attention to the needs of and the role of government. Unfortunately, government tends to exceed its rightful role, and Selma's government is no exception. Local government should not have as its primary goals the inclusion of more and more territory under its control nor the increase of its tax base. As I have preached for years, the primary focus should be on essential services and maintenance of existing infrastructure above all else. That means keeping the police cars and fire trucks rolling, the fresh water flowing, the sewage and waste water outgoing, the garbage picked up, the streets paved, and the electricity flowing. The only reason that I see water, sewer, and electricity as essential services is that the town has set itself up as a monopoly business in these areas. I would actually prefer to see private industry take over these utilities, since I believe in private enterprise, competition, and decreasing prices by not burdening tax payers and citizens with the maintenance of such services.

I was glad to read that life long residents have chosen to become engaged in their community, but I was hoping to read some great insights that made me pump my fist in the air and say, "Yeah, there ya' go!" I have a few comments that I would like to proffer, but have to keep it brief in the interest of print space.

It was stated that "senior citizens are the backbone of our community". No, they are not. I do not minimize their importance. They are an integral part, a necessary part, and a welcome part of our community. However, they are no more or less important than any other segment. Our local children are likewise. They are not to dominate our focus and we certainly are not to concentrate our law enforcement activities on them as a target demographic. We do not have inadequate emergency medical response, and the ridiculous notion that you don't get a live person on the other end of the phone when you dial 9-1-1 just because that person is in Smithfield instead of Selma just astounds me. Furthermore, EMS is not a town responsibility, it is a county one. For crying out loud, know the role of your government before filing for elected office or at least before opening your mouth at a public forum. I have more commentary, but don't have the space for it and need to go take a blood pressure pill before I pop a blood vessel.

Before anyone accuses me of simply having "sour grapes" over not having been elected myself, you can save your breath. Nay, it is a growing annoyance as a citizen of this town, this county, this state, and this nation. As I stated, I am glad to see people become engaged in their local town and government. I only wish that people took being an informed candidate or elected official as seriously as I do being an informed citizen. Yes, that is one of my pet peeves, which is one of the reasons why you get to read my rants each week.

Column for July 23, 2009

As usual, since I have been a resident of Selma, I have been following the news about the upcoming municipal election. I peek at what is happening in other towns, but obviously my main focus is upon the town in which I reside, as it should be with residents of every town.

Many people neglect the municipal level of elections and instead focus on the national political scene and maybe even state level. However, no level of government affects your daily life more than the municipal level. Unfortunately, this is most often the most neglected level in terms of voter participation, media coverage, and even candidate participation.

It is at the municipal level (and often the county level) that decisions are taken regarding the water you drink, the electricity you use, the sewer rates you pay, and the property and sales taxes you pay. It is also where you are told whether or not you can build a home or business, whether you have to repair or tear down a dilapidated house, if you have to mow your lawn, and sometimes even how fast you can drive.

The deadline for filing for municipal elections has come and gone already. This year's election will either be very interesting or very dull. I have not decided which. I guess that time will help me with that conclusion.

Incumbents Debbie Johnson and Jackie Lacy have filed for re-election to the Town Council, and Charles Hester has filed for the mayor's job yet again. Hester has two opponents for the upcoming election and there are a total of five people running for just two seats on the Council.

Four years ago, Debbie Johnson was quoted as saying that she was not sure if she was going to run in that election cycle, but she did anyway. Four years later, she apparently thinks that she is a good enough representative to stay in office for yet another term.

Jackie Lacy is an interesting case. I have been to many Council meetings and observed all members of the Council and the Mayor. I like Jackie as an individual, but as a representative in government, I am underwhelmed. I have plenty of more commentary on the ladies, but I choose to exercise self-restraint.

Mayor Hester has been a controversial individual for both of his two-year terms. Though I appreciate the propensity to actually lead, it is no secret that I strongly disagree with his dictatorial methodology and bullying tactics. I don't care how long one has spent in the military in a previous career, a municipality (or any other representative republic) is no place for those tactics. I agree with many of Hester's views but I equally, vehemently disagree with others.

With two opponents this year, it will be interesting to see how the vote is split and whether that will help or hinder Mayor Phineas T. Bluster. With less than a 25 vote swing in the last election, Chucky could have lost to a relatively unknown candidate. In all probability, had the polls not closed an hour later than normal in the east precinct, yielding time to make numerous phone calls and truck in voters for his cause, we would have had a new mayor.

Here is something I want everyone to remember regarding the incumbents. It was under the watch of Debbie Johnson and Jackie Lacy that we got the spending and budget crunch Selma had that resulted in employee layoffs, budget cuts, questionable accounting practices, and are now on our third town manager. It was under theirs and Hester's watch that we had property taxes raised three out of four years, had attempts at forced annexation, and attempts to control private properties up to two miles outside the town limits…all for money and power.

Speaking of property taxes, Tommy Holmes is running again for the town council. Though he and I agree on taxation, one can hardly be a "one issue" candidate year after year. I don't know if Tommy will make any headway this year, and I hope that he actually chooses to participate in candidate forums rather than sit them out yet again this election cycle.

The bottom line, my philosophy is not that we should kick out all incumbents and put in all new leadership. However, the quote from success guru Tony Robbins is axiomatic when applied to elections, not just business. "If you do what you've always done, you'll get what you've always gotten." Will voters remember this in November? I doubt it.

Column for Jan. 22, 2009

I keep hearing "Selma has a lot of potential, BUT…"

I occasionally run across someone with whom I end up in a conversation about the town of Selma. Whether it is as a result of my writings here or on the internet, or in the course of conducting the affairs of life, I will find people who are genuinely interested in the town. This week I ran across a man who lives on the outskirts of town when I was shopping for my new car. He is a salesman for a dealership and when I told him where I live, he recognized my name and he began to say that "Selma has a lot of potential, but…" Alas, I hear that sentiment a lot.

When doctors diagnose disease, they start with exhibited symptoms. I often see symptoms in every organization, employer, and government. Some are good, some not so much. Just one symptom I always look for is how one esteems the time and effort of others. That tells me a lot about a person or group of people. It may seem to be nuance, but it is indeed telling.

When I have spoken with other men about Selma, to a person, they have wanted to see the town prosper. Some wish to find a way to get involved. I was one such person, hence my service on two town boards and being on the ballot for elected office. My tenure of service, however, has me a bit perplexed at times.

According to the town web site, "It is the Citizens Advisory Committee's purpose to advise the Town Council of the interests and grievances of individual citizens and citizens' groups. The Citizens Advisory Committee is also responsible for filling vacancies on all the other committees and boards and recommending them to Council for approval." Since being appointed to the Citizens Advisory Committee over two years ago, I have yet to be asked to attend a single meeting of the board. Yet in that time, we have gone through two town managers, the hiring of a new fire chief and its resulting aftermath, a planned ethanol plant and the subsequent protests, forced annexation and subsequent protests, extra-territorial jurisdiction expansion plans and subsequent protests, the writing and implementation of a Strategic Plan for the town, and several other things that come to mind.

Organizational methodology is often the result of one of three things. A. "That is the way we always did it." B. At the time, the circumstances dictated it be done a certain way. C. Efficiency. Our new town planner and town manager have been working to make things more efficient in areas wherein we were lacking. I appreciate these efforts.

It was not long before efforts at efficiency were thwarted with the call for a special meeting of the Planning Board for some minutia. Board members made plans for attendance and canceled life's plans. The meeting was not in compliance with public meeting laws, so it was postponed for a few weeks, though still abnormal in its schedule. Again, plans had to change to accommodate a seemingly capricious meeting schedule.

I mentioned the idea of symptoms of systemic problems, among them being the esteem of the time and effort of others. In one example, the Citizens Advisory Committee, the time and talent of its members are held in low esteem as they have never been asked to advise on anything. Perhaps the committee's apparent obsolescence should require its abolition. In the example of the Planning Board, its members' time and effort have been held in low regard for the sake of service at the whim of an oligarchy.

There is a paradigm in Selma about which I was warned long before I ever moved or worked here. A man who pioneered a church in this town relayed to me the difficulties he had with the town's culturally ingrained mindset. I have been attempting to pick away at that paradigm like a man swinging a pick-axe on a mountain. Alone, it will take a long time to tear down the mountain. With others' help, the mountain will be eroded faster.

I have been asked to possibly fellowship with other like-minded people here in Selma. I make this invitation to all those who think with a conservative mindset, who want to share ideas, or just want to work together to make Selma "A Charming Place to Be". If you have such a desire for fellowship, contact me through this newspaper, through troylaplante.com, at PO Box 822 in Selma, or at my email at the end of this column.

May we all work to change the sentiments of "Selma has a lot of potential, BUT…"

Column for Sept. 25, 2008

So Selma finally has a new Town Manager. Richard Douglas does seem to have an impressive résumé. Along with that résumé, however, expect impressive results.

The Town Manager serves at the whim of the Town Council. This means two things. First, he/she can be hired and fired at the Council's bidding. Next, it means that the employee is subservient to the Council and should take direction on administration while at the same time providing expertise to the Council for their authoritative decision taking.

Looking back, I see that we have had several town managers with diverse personalities and methods. Bruce Radford, now in Apex, was a bit more flamboyant and outgoing. Jeff White was much more reserved, and despite the heavy criticism he received, still served at the direction of the town council and mayor. Stan Farmer and I got along well and I thought he carried out his financial mission well, but I found him a bit obsequious, often afraid to offer a strong opinion. My interactions with interim Manager, C.L. Gobble have shown him to be articulate and knowledgeable, yet bold enough to offer insight and be contrarian if necessary.

I remember when the town laid off the entire Planning Department a few years ago. In talking to Mr. Gobble at the last Planning Board meeting, I learned that there were a lot of planning items left lacking with Stan Farmer's departure. Whether that was because of the lack of a planning department, the lack of planning expertise, or because of Mr. Farmer's general work load, I do not know for sure. What I do know is that Selma is only 3.5 square miles in territory and can not be so swamped with planning issues as to backlog the town's progress. After all, we do have plenty of Planning Board meetings get canceled because of a lack of agenda.

I recently got notice that the Planning Board would not be meeting this month until the new Town Manager and Planning Director are in place. I wonder, however, if these two positions need to remain and the same. If our interim Town Manager can push through the new Walgreen's project with it never coming to the Planning Board for a formal vote or review (not that the Planning Board has any authority whatsoever other than to recommend action to the Council either in the affirmative or negative), then I wonder about needing a separate employee to do so.

Jeff White was paid in the low 70,000 dollar range, if memory serves correctly. Stan Farmer was paid in the sixties to start. We just hired a new manager for $90,000 per year, and Mr. Douglas has a Master's Degree in planning as well as a good amount of experience in that field, from what I read in this very newspaper. If we are going to hire someone for that much money more than we were previously offering, and we are now in a time of an economic slow down, then I believe that we, as tax payers should expect more for our dollars, which are harder to come by. This is especially true when we have been hit with nearly a dime's increase per $100 valuation in property tax with another property valuation coming around the corner.

I have seen towns with a lot more square miles and close to 100,000 population paying not much more than what we in little old Selma will be paying for our new manager. Don't get me wrong, I do not begrudge any man getting as much salary as he can negotiate. This is absolutely nothing personal with Richard Douglas, since I do not know him and probably have never met him before. It is, however, an issue of public trust. My mortgage escrow rate just went up because of a higher tax rate (again), I see areas of neglect in town (as I have previously addressed in this very column), and yet I see that we are going to pay well over a third more in salary to our next Town Manager than we did our last one. For that, I expect more effort and customer service. We, the citizens, are the customers.

One request that I would have for Mr. Douglas as he starts his new job is not to allow the political bullying that we have seen in this town for the past three years push him too far. I would hope that he would not let strong personalities railroad him into taking wrong decisions or going contrary to what he knows to be the proper course of action according to Selma's best interest. I would hope that he would show the same degree of boldness shown by Mr. Gobble and speak on behalf of the taxpayers, the future of the town, and not be obsequious.