The Best Town Manager We Ever Had

October 22, 2012
By Mickey Friedman

Like icebergs, only a small portion of what goes on in a small town is visible. So much of what really happens, happens beneath the surface.

The Great Barrington Selectboard finally acted on what they’ve been experiencing and hearing about for the longest time. Much of what they saw and heard for a whole host of reasons – privacy, proper procedure, etc – will probably never be talked about. Which is too bad and probably the reason why again and again people in a position of power are allowed to stay long beyond the point of return.

We’ve all heard a million times the Lord Acton quote about power and how it corrupts. A lot of people learned that lesson all over again. Now we’re in the midst of reaction. We’re going to hear over and over again about how the trains ran on time. How, finally, things were getting done. What we won’t be hearing about is all the people who felt bullied, about the competent town servants who left rather than deal with someone who clearly didn’t respect their work.

Not surprising a lot of the people who had problems were women. If you don’t know by now that women in the workplace often have a much harder time of it than men, well there’s not much I can say that’s going to make a difference. Just like if you’re not trained to see bullying, and the bully has bought you a beer, you’re probably not going to believe those who have summoned the strength to speak in private but won’t speak in public.

If you don’t understand how the institutions like the Catholic Church and Penn State tolerated its pederasts, think about how much easier it is to collaborate than to courageously confront your failures?

Think about the numbers of people who decided to keep their jobs rather than do the right thing.

Bullies often make it clear that loyalty and compliance are all-important. Smart bullies are usually polite to those higher up, and those they might need, but can’t help but be rude to those they view as inessential and inconsequential. In a small town that’s most of us.

We’re going to hear about how we’re getting rid of “the Best Town Manager We Ever Had.” Well, for those with short memories, we long ago had a very competent Town Manager. It was when we weren’t used to the idea of Town Managers and precisely because of his competence, he ruffled some feathers. But Joe Kellogg proved that rudeness and arrogance weren’t prerequisites for the job. Maybe he was the Best Town Manager We Ever Had. Or just maybe we haven’t yet experienced the Best Town Manager We Ever Had. Just maybe it’s as difficult to quantify as trying determine the Best Third Baseman The Red Sox Ever Had. Or the best Clara to grace the Nutcracker.

I’ve criticized the Selectboard over the last couple of years, doing what I believe is my job as a columnist of opinion. Serving I hope as a creative curmudgeon. But I’m very glad they have acknowledged a problem and are working to find a solution for us.

I believe many of our problems can be traced to an underactive and far too trusting Board
and an overactive and overreaching Town Manager. It results, I believe, in a lamentable lack of respect between the town government and its townspeople.

An example or two: the dispute between several residents of Blue Hill Road and the owners and renters of the Rodgers property and their continuing battle over excessive noise. When finally, the Building Inspector intervened, it was clear he was messing up some under-the-table deal that had effectively ensured the noise would continue. The lack of support for the Building Inspector was stunning. I mean the Building Inspector has got to have one of the most thankless jobs of all times: upholding a complex building code when every homeowner, every builder, every merchant wants and needs to be building/occupying/selling his property right this very minute. Does he probably overreact sometimes? I wouldn’t doubt it. But imagine a blocked fire exit and a late-night fire. And think about the costs of a mistake, or a violation he ignores. A favor to one could be a disaster to many.

Then there’s the sale/maybe non-sale of the old firehouse and the reality that the existing sales agreement will cause extraordinary and probably unnecessary problems for the retailers of Railroad Street. Who missed the fine print? Didn’t calculate the real costs of this agreement?

Then the biggest elephant. The reality that for all the sweet talk about soliciting citizen input for the Main Street Reconstruction Project, many people who shared their hopes and fears and offered thoughtful suggestions have seen these suggestions routinely ignored and their input rendered meaningless.

It’s time for the Best Town Manager We Ever Had.