Local government inaction is disturbing

Local government inaction is disturbingThe announcement this week that the Winchester Board of Selectmen lost a potential deal to get an abandoned property back on the tax rolls came as a disappointment and a reminder that local government has been operating at anything but peak performance this year, with the town’s number-one priority, economic development, being abandoned in a haze of political bickering.The deal, for the purchase of the old Capitol Products building on Willow Street, has been on the agenda of the Board of Selectmen for months, but has never been accepted or rejected by the board. Other properties in town, like the old Lambert Kay building at the corner of Main and Lake streets, have also been waiting to be developed without any real action by successive boards.While local politicians bicker over personal conflicts, Winsted has also been without a town planner for more than a year. One might imagine the position would be key to the development of abandoned properties in Winsted, but hiring is the responsibility of the town manager, and we have been unable to hold on to one of those for more than a few months.Why is that? Again, with local politicians nitpicking and micromanaging the town’s business, town managers have been unable to provide effective leadership here. Certain members of the board seem to think it is their duty to insert themselves into Town Hall business on a daily basis, and previous town managers have expressed exasperation and a sense of being hamstrung by meddling politicians.A sign of hope in all of this has arrived in the hiring, finally, of a new town manager, Dale Martin, who comes here from Michigan. Martin is the first manager hired under a newly revised charter that allows the town to hire out-of-towners. He told The Journal this week that he plans to move out of a temporary residence in Torrington to Winsted as soon as possible. Coming from economically distressed communities in Michigan, Martin seems to know a lot about what to avoid when trying to build a local economy and he has said his priority here is economic development.Winsted residents should stop in at Town Hall and say hello to the new town manager, who is refreshingly candid, friendly and confident. Martin appears interested in what townspeople have to say and ready to get to work. If you see members of the Board of Selectmen milling around, it may help to remind them to move along.