The New Selflessness (2).
By Jim Conley • Jun 19th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Fire, Brookline Override, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Previous ColumnsI suppose we could live in a community where firefighters refuse to risk injury from fighting blazes caused by the careless mixing of lit cigarettes with astroturf (as is the case with Harrison Street), but we don’t. They rush in while the careless rush out. Only to be later accused of milking the system by the princes and princesses in our (well adorned) public palace.
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Guest Column: Systemic Accountability (Part 2A).
By Archie Mazmanian • Jun 12th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Previous ColumnsAt first blush it would seem that the Selectmen’s evaluations of the Town Administrator pursuant to Section XI of the Employment Contract once placed in his personnel file would have the benefit of the cited exemption from public records. But the role of the Town Administrator as the Chief Administrative Officer of the Town would seem to be uniquely different from most, if not all, Town employees.
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Two Years On Brookline.
By Jim Conley • Jun 9th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Previous ColumnsWe all seem to dance around it, but the reality is that we only have a few genuinely bright people serving in town government. When it comes to our executive branch, I can only point to Selectman Dick Benka as operating on all cylinders. Our town managers have no idea what they are doing, and the town administrator is woefully ill-equipped to lead them.
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Survey Says?
By Jim Conley • Jun 3rd, 2008 • Category: Betsy DeWitt, Brookline Override, On Brookline BlogAfter weeks of my asking, Selectman Betsy DeWitt still refuses to release the results of the poll conducted by “Yes for Brookline” prior to the crafting of the May 6th override vote. (Note: It was DeWitt who introduced the language which the selectmen approved.)
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Guest Column: Systemic Accountability (Part 2).
By Archie Mazmanian • Jun 2nd, 2008 • Category: Brookline Override, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Previous Columns, The Allen FilesThe ultimate question is, how can Brookline residents be assured that our Selectmen have duly and truly accounted for the Town Administrator’s performance if the Boards evaluations rendered pursuant to Section XI are not available to the public?
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It’s a $25 Million Renovation Project.
By Jim Conley • Jun 1st, 2008 • Category: Brookline Finances, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, On Brookline Blog, Robert AllenThere they go again. In all the nonsense over having $700 thousand left over for office furniture from the town hall renovation, the flunkies in the town administration want us to believe that they’ll have only spent $14 million on the gut and build out.
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Fear of the Unknowing.
By Jim Conley • May 29th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Advisory Committee, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Brookline Town Meeting, Nancy Daly, Previous ColumnsWhat’s really extraordinary about the Advisory Committee is the fear that its members try to produce among each other and project to those who may come before them. It is often the case that people who are contemplating a contentious appearance before the Committee will receive a call from its more offensive member (think Dicken’s Mr. Smallweed) and suffer threats of ridicule should they disagree with the party line.
I mean really, the threat of humiliation before the Brookline Advisory Committee (or the full town meeting assembly) is kind of like fretting over finishing last in the village idiot balloting. I’d worry if I started to make sense in front of that group.
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Cardinal O’Malley Comes Calling.
By Jim Conley • May 26th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Selectmen, Nancy Daly, Previous Columns, Robert Allen, St. Aidan'sI hope that the Cardinal has healing in mind for his Wednesday visit. I hope he speaks to neighbors so that he can hear first hand of the toll this project has taken on them. I hope he asks his development team why the buildings are not being draped to prevent the release of asbestos and lead from window caulkings (pictured left, click to view) when they agreed to this as part of the lawsuit settlement.
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The Reckoning.
By Jim Conley • May 22nd, 2008 • Category: Brookline Override, Brookline Politics, Brookline Schools, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Previous Columns, The Allen FilesThere’s a reckoning coming, a swift and painful collapse at the foundation of our public institutions. A reckoning that will put to the lie the town hall propaganda of Brookline as “Massachusetts’ best run community.” A reckoning that will show the folly of placing our trust in a Board of Selectmen featuring four intellectually and ethically corrupted individuals (i.e., Allen, Daly, DeWitt and Mermell).
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The New Selflessness.
By Jim Conley • May 19th, 2008 • Category: Brookline Advisory Committee, Brookline Override, Brookline Selectmen, Brookline Town Government, Brookline Town Meeting, Jesse Mermell, Nancy Daly, Previous Columns, Robert Allen, St. Aidan's, The Allen FilesI’ll tell you what’s selfish - it’s school administrators and teachers whipping parents into a state of fear so as to vote them a pay raise. It’s the selectmen and the school committee unwilling to manage their $200 and $70 million budgets, respectively, in a way that avoids a tax increase on the elderly, who now get to choose between winter heat and paying their property tax bill.
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