Today Seymour has a lack of accountability on a multitude of levels, beginning and ending with its current leadership.
To have true accountability you must have an understanding of where you are and where you want to be. The simple way to accomplish this is through proper planning. These plans need to have measurable goals to chart our progress to track and ensure things are moving toward completion.
This type of professional management is currently lacking and a noticeable problem for Seymour. I do not think Seymour is being represented very well due to this lack of leadership and proper planning, and while knocking on doors I have spoken with many residents who feel the same way.
When first seeking the office in 2009, Mr. Roy claimed that Seymour’s parks were not being kept up and its roads were not being maintained (from the Valley Gazette, October 19, 2009). Today, unfortunately, they look worse than ever and there is no plan in place to try and change this. I understand that it has been a tough year for weather, but we live in New England and this is certainly not an acceptable long-term excuse for not getting things done.
Mr. Roy had it right when he was first campaigning when he indicated he wanted to work with town departments to stick with three- to five-year budget plans due to the economic times in an effort to not over-tax the people (from the Valley Gazette, October 19, 2009). These budget plans have yet to be formalized and with only two weeks until the election, residents are left to wonder what has been going on for the last 23 months.
On his own website from the 2009 campaign, Mr. Roy stated his vision was “to develop long range, strategic plans for Public Works, Parks, the Police Department, the school system and other departments to avoid future problems.” What happened?
Contrary to what you may think, I am not trying to pick on my opponent. Instead, I am trying to prove the point that leadership and accountability matter. We need to hold our elected officials as well as our employees to a higher standard.
We need to use proven business and human resource practices to better manage our town. Real short- and long-term plans have to be developed with measurable goals and they must be worked and maintained.
We must have weekly senior staff meetings to promote communication between departments, and departments need to have regularly scheduled staff meetings to allow for a better flow of thoughts and ideas. On top of this, we need to improve our overall communication with residents so that there are no surprises and people know what we are trying to accomplish.
Unlike others, I promise not to make promises that I cannot keep. My professional experience has given me the tools and background to make decisions and take action. These are serious issues, making it worth saying again: Leadership Matters!
The writer is a Republican running for First Selectman.
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