Shelby supervisor: change to appointing officials will assure highly qualified people will be in those positions

Editor:

In the last election you, the Town of Shelby voters, elected me as Supervisor and two other board members by a wide margin. It was clear that this was based on a dissatisfaction with the previous administrations.

Since taking office I have seen just how bad things had gotten. The other board members and I have taken our Oath of Office seriously looking for solutions to the current problems and ways to keep it from falling backwards when we are no longer in office. Understand, it is highly unlikely that any future Supervisor will spend as much time in the Town Hall office as I have nor likely to have the quality board we have today. That means that the full-time positions of Town Clerk and Highway Superintendent need to be the very best we can find, regardless of party affiliation.

I have seen firsthand how much a person in these positions needs to know. Just because we are a smaller town does not make these jobs any easier. In fact I will argue they are harder, since we can no longer afford the number of staff for help that we used to have.  When Darlene Rich was elected, she had 3 experienced staff members. The next person will be lucky to have 1.

I encourage you to read some of the documents we have put on the Town of Shelby website (click here).

If the board decides to move ahead the real work will follow. A full list of job requirements, a formal hiring process including resume reviews and interviews, job protection from arbitrary board decisions, a performance review policy, a full description of a benefit package including work hours and time off.

All this and more will need to be developed and formalized. Remember today anyone can run for office, no resume or experience needed and once elected they by Municipal Town Law are not required to work any specific number of hours or have limits on time off.  Together we need to find a way to assure that we the taxpayers get the best service possible for our hard-earned tax dollars.

Let’s make it clear, no one on the Shelby Town Board is looking to take away any of your rights. The public hearing gives everyone a chance to express their views. The board will consider those and then make a decision to proceed or not. Proceeding means that these proposed Local Laws will be put on the ballot in November. With that you’re assured the right to vote YES or NO.

Jim Heminay

Town of Shelby Supervisor