Opinion

Letter: Why didn’t the town moderator contact all screening committee candidates?

The following letter was read at Tuesday’s Select Board meeting.

Dear members of the Town of Grafton Select Board,

I am a resident and home owner in Grafton.  I am writing to express my concern about the process used by the Town Moderator (Dan Concaugh) to choose the “At large” members of the screening committee for the Town Administrator search.  It is my understanding that the choice has been made, that 2 of the 3 members were on the previous search committee and are all male.  It is disappointing to not see any women included in these choices and I am also concerned as to whether these choices contribute to the goal of populating an impartial committee that has representatives with no vested interest in the selection of the new TA.

My concern also stems from the way my application to the committee was handled — I applied to be considered for the committee on 8/19.  Mr Concaugh never replied to my email.  I wrote again on 9/3 and a town employee replied but I never heard from Mr Concaugh or anyone acting on his behalf.   First, this is not the way to treat citizens looking to volunteer their time.  Second, I would like to know by what criteria my application was not advanced to even a quick screening call?  Third, as a citizen of Grafton, I think I have a right to know who was chosen and what were the criteria for the choice?  Also, I would like to encourage the Select Board to consider examining carefully the Committee as configured due to the lack of transparency and adherence to fair search practices, and also to examine the process used by Mr Concaugh to determine whether it meets with your approval. 

I am wondering if this procedure as stated in the town by-laws was followed? Article 32 Section 3
“The Select Board shall, prior to the start of the search process, adopt a charge for the Screening Committee setting forth the particulars of the search process involving a time schedule, number of candidates to be selected as semi-finalists to be interviewed by the Select Board and any other directives the Select Board deems appropriate.

I would hope that among your directives to the Moderator would be the charge that the Screening committee at large members be diverse, that the process for selection would be fair and transparent, and that the selections serve the interests of the whole Town in an impartial manner.

Sincerely,
Rachel Gerstein