Board between a rock and a hard place

Citizens of Littleton do not have to go far to see how government works at its best. The monthly town meetings provide a good insight into how the governing process evolves. Abraham Lincoln stated in the Gettysburg Address that “we are a government of the people by the people and for the people.” 

In Littleton there is a small group of people that stay involved on a continuing basis. Town meetings generally do not draw big crowds and generally most of those who do come are there to observe rather than participate. Lately many of those attending have been participants in the process. 

The last several meetings have been active at times to the point of being contentious. The intensity of some citizens is noticeable and the intense level of response from the board members is also noticeable. 

Dr. Sylvia Alston has been involved in the process for many years. She is not alone but lately she has been the one that stands out. She comes to the meetings prepared and willing to participate. Alston has several issues that she has shown she feels strongly about. She presents her cases well and is willing to take on the board. 

The town board consists of five elected commissioners and the Mayor. The commissioners are Betty Willis who is also the Mayor Pro tem, Commissioner Terry Newsom, Commissioner Alfred Cooke, Commissioner Billy Matthews and Commissioner Clara Debnam. Keeping a record of the process is Town Clerk Sheila Taylor.

The meetings are conducted under Roberts Rules of Order, which is the governing manual for almost all meetings public and private. 

Lately, being part of Littleton’s town government seems to mean you have to have your guard up at every town meeting. For months now the mayor, commissioners, and town clerk have at one time or another been called to task for something they have or not done. 

The last three meetings have been extremely tough on them. The attacks have been from those on the board and from citizens. Some attacks have been just quiet statements, but most have been brought to light with verbal exchanges, sometimes intensely.

This month’s meeting on Monday, Oct. 1, seemed to bring several things to a head. All of those involved strongly believe in what they were saying. Accusations were made against the mayor, the commissioners, and the town clerk. 

The clerk was accused of not getting it right when it came to a motion made by town Commissioner Alfred Cooke and of leaving out or overlooking a part of the discussion that was held on another issue from the previous months meeting. 

In both cases it appears Taylor was correct in what she did. Cooke was adamant that he did not make the motion mentioned in the previous month’s minutes involving the town Website. A review of the town’s tapes and the tapes from the Littleton Observer reveals that Cooke did, indeed, make a motion to ensure the town kept the proposed Website in house. 

She was also brought to task for not including comments made by Newsom regarding the town ordinance.  In the end, according to the guidelines used for meetings, Taylor actually had more in the meetings minutes than what was required. 

According to Roberts Rule of Order the minutes of a meeting should contain what was done at a meeting, not what was said by members. They should contain all main motions and the wording in which each motion was adopted or otherwise disposed of.

In short, the minutes of a meeting are not a transcript of the meeting. With this in mind the comments made by Newsom would not have and should not have been part of the minutes. 

The town board has been trying to deal with complaints about the lots that have not been maintained. The town has an ordinance that requires people to maintain their lots and cut them at least two times a year.  Once again this issue has been brought before the board. 

In 2004 the issue was as hot as it is today. That year a local attorney sent a letter to the board stating that he will not clean up the property unless ordered to do so by a court of competent jurisdiction. The letter goes into great depth about the ordinance and how it is applied. It implies that the board and its members cold face legal action just for trying to enforce an ordinance that requires people to keep their lots cut twice a year.

The mayor told the Observer that this would never enter into his decision making. Some board members are concerned enough that they keep it fresh in their minds. This was evident at a recent board meeting when one commissioner mentioned the letter in a discussion after the meeting about enforcing the town ordinance regarding the lot maintenance. 

In another recent exchange about the town Website Willis read a letter from a representative of the UNC School of Government Center for Public Technology. The letter recommended that a Website should be created by and maintained by paid governmental staff. The letter mentioned many reasons why it should be done this way.  

In her comments Willis related how she had been told that there is precedent of towns being sued by what is on their Website.

One of the comments from a citizen implied that if the town followed this letter and other advice it could not get ahead. The implication was that it was like the town keeping its head in the sand and not wanting to make changes.

The board seems to be in a very difficult position; they are damned if they do and damned if they don’t.  Conflicts and verbal exchanges are all part of the legislative process.  They are what generally leads to changes. In the end no one generally gets everything they want, but changes do occur. 

Because people do get involved Lincoln’s words are as relevant today as they were over a hundred years ago in 1863. The small town of Littleton, with a budget that is smaller than most businesses, keeps moving ahead at a typical governmental pace because everyone cares. 

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