Congratulations to the newly elected Silver Lake Town Council members, and thank you to the other candidates for running.
I especially want to thank Teresa Howell for running for clerk-treasurer. After the way her character was smeared four years ago, she was reluctant to put herself in that position again. It took a lot of persuasion to get her to agree to be on the ballot, but those of us who wanted integrity and accountability in the clerk's office know she was the right candidate. It shows what kind of character she really has and that she cares about Silver Lake to put herself in that position again. An election shouldn't be made into a popularity contest.
I was recently asked if I could write a positive letter. Unfortunately, much of what I was seeing the last four years wasn't positive and when something positive did happen there was usually a "but" or "however" because of the way in which it was carried out or the cost involved. The previous letters were written because of the clerk's and council's indifference to accountability, fiscal responsibility and also to inform the citizens of how our money was being handled and the records were being kept.
I hope the new council will look at all sides of an issue before making a decision; will make decisions in a meeting, not before or after the meetings; and will look at the clerk's practices. I hope they will see it as a duty to be accountable to the citizens by following State Board of Accounts guidelines, state codes and town ordinances. And remember that the clerk and the council are there to represent the people, not their own agenda. The citizens pay your salaries. This is the only way for the citizens to have confidence in the town government.
