These municipal decisions may hurt town’s future

During the course of October, two separate town entities made some bad decisions that could negatively impact the future of the town.At a Board of Education meeting on Oct. 14, members of the school district announced that the district paid more than $10,000 for new furniture for Superintendent of Schools Anne Watson and district Executive Assistant Darlene Bentley. Watson was hired in June and started work on July 1.The decision to purchase the furniture was not approved by the board at any meeting. School district Finance Director Nadine Savage said that the money came out of funds left over from the previous fiscal year.With the budget season for fiscal 2015-2016 coming up, this is a bad decision on the school district’s part. For the past few years, during the school district’s budget presentation, the district has placed an emphasis on pleading for funds in order to help support educational programs. The same money that was used to purchase furniture could have been better spent on the school district’s programs for its students, whether it would be textbooks or technology.When the school district makes its budget presentation and request next year, chances are good that there will be plenty of residents who will criticize the district for not being wise with their spending.This expenditure for furniture has the potential to hurt future requests for funds for school programs. In essence, this will hurt the students of the school district.The school district should have deliberated on the expenditure for furniture before making any purchase. The district also should have put any expenditure of this amount up to a vote to the Board of Education.Finally, instead of purchasing new furniture, the school district could have looked into purchasing used furniture from one of the many thrift shops in the area. The district could have saved thousands of dollars by making the same purchases at Goodwill or The Salvation Army, as many taxpayers do.• • •Meanwhile, on Oct. 20, the Board of Selectmen decided not to reappoint Planning and Zoning Chairman Michael Peacock.Peacock served five years with the commission and was in the process of updating the town’s zoning regulations. Considering the amount of time and effort Peacock has put into the commission, the decision made by the selectmen is wrong.The Planning and Zoning Commission is not a commission where you can just walk in and serve. You need extensive knowledge of the town’s zoning codes and regulations in order to deal with applications and potential developments that come before you at meetings.In his letter of interest to the selectmen, Commission nominee Jerry Martinez did not indicate any previous experience in Planning and Zoning, whether it would be commissions, planning companies or construction companies.The board’s decision to essentially oust Peacock will have an effect on the organization of town zoning regulations and potential future developments for the town.Most of the commission members admitted at the Oct. 27 meeting that they do not have the same amount of time or energy that Peacock had when it comes to Planning and Zoning issues.With Peacock indicating to both selectmen and The Winsted Journal that he wants to serve on the commission, there is still time for the Republican majority of the board to make the right choice and reverse their decision.