Dear Editor:
There’s an old military axiom that says “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”
For the past 50 plus years our Board of Finance has been led by our elected first selectman who serves as ex officio chair.
Some want to change that. The entire 12 members of the Board of Finance do not want to change that. The three members of our Board of Selectman do not want to change that. Half of the members of our Town Council do not want to change that. Changing a system that has worked for the past 50 years would remove the accountability factors from this process and place the town’s financial wellbeing in the hands of an appointed resident never subject to or accountable to the voters in our community.
In Vietnam I commanded a rifle company of 200 soldiers and in Desert Storm I commanded a Transportation Agency of 1,500 soldiers. A commander is responsible for all that his or her unit does or fails to do. Accountability is the cornerstone of military command. It is also the cornerstone of our democracy. To fundamentally abandon a system that has served our Town so well over the many years makes no sense. It ain’t broke. There is no need to “fix” it.
On Nov. 8, I’ll be voting ‘No’ to the changes being proposed by the Charter Revision Commission regarding our Board of Finance.
Very truly yours,
Peter C. Langenus
Colonel, U.S. Army (Ret.)
Mr. Langenus deserves our gratitude and respect for his service to our country, without question. And in fact more so for his continued service to the VFW. However, I must disagree with his view that “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” We always should seek ways to make things better vs. accepting the status quo. I am sure he was grateful for all the improvements in military weaponry that have occurred, for example. And I must point out that he is, to best of my knowledge, mistaken as to the position of the Board of Selectmen on this issue, as I believe only two of them support his view.
As Meatloaf sang…”two out of three ain’t bad”. Why doesn’t the Republican “mafia” in NC fess up on this issue that they have turned into a strictly political one.
Why doesn’t Dave Hunt tell us taxpayers how much this “buy outside lawyers” is costing we taxpayers … 2 went to Hartford today for a two hour meeting and undoubtedly charged for time driving up and back also… as well as prepping time for meeting?
NewCanaanite needs to report that Town attorney Ira Bloom indicated that all info should be made public, and since heads of CRC didn’t like his view, they went to someone else.
And why doesn’t Dave Hunt tell us why EVERYONE they interviewed wasn’t given the confidentiality agreement up front if he thinks it is so important?
Needs to report? Please see this article which ran hours after the selectmen meeting on Sept. 28: https://newcanaanite.com/scary-and-slippery-slope-with-reservations-selectmen-ok-new-counsel-for-foi-request-43086
And, Colonel Langenus deserves our gratitude and respect for his service to our country as well as his views on CRC trying to neutralize the First Selectman’s position!