Important Meetings This Week

There are two especially important meetings this week that are of special concern to us all: The first is the Budget Committee meeting on Thursday, September 8 at 6:00 in the Elementary School Library, and the Joint Loss Committee meeting on Friday at 10:00 at the Town Hall.

The Budget Committee will be reviewing key issues resulting from the Electric
Department review held on August 6, as well as meeting with the Public Works
Department, and meeting with the Water and Sewer Department. At the last
meeting, the Budget Committee questioned the Electric Department about its
accounting practices. Also at that meeting, the Electric Commissioners denied
Budget Committee's request to review the Master Power Supply Agreement. The department has given the committee the details of the new 6-year agreement. It is important that Committee have all of the financial information and that it understands the terms of the agreements to in order to prepare the budget. We need to have the same information to vote on the budget.

There will also be a meeting of the Joint Loss Committee* on Friday, September 9 at 10:00 in the upstairs Conference Room at the town Hall. The committee is responsible for safety and will be looking into the accident involving the Electric Department digger-derek truck that occurred two weeks ago. We need to be assured that the department is following proper safety procedures, that employees have proper training, and that proper corrective action has been taken. We should also be concerned about the cost of replacing the truck, where the money is going to come from in the department budget, and how it will be accounted for.

*The Joint Loss Committee is listed on the Town's Website, but there is no information about the committee or its members. I do not know the specific duties and responsibilities of the committee.