What Winchester Officials Don’t Want Taxpayers to Know

A Letter To The Editor From Winchester resident Peggy Schleicher:

I like to stay informed about Winchester and its work on the Housing Production Plan and mistakenly assumed that residents could find public documents online. After all, it is 2018! I was also trying to avoid a trip to Town Hall because of recent knee replacement surgery. However, I discovered that there is no link to the housing production plan on the town’s website and no up-to- date information about key housing issues facing the town. I only found three outdated meeting agendas during my online search.

With an ice pack on my knee, I attended an 8:30 a.m. meeting of the Housing Production Plan Working Group on February 13 … a very inconvenient time for residents to attend a meeting. I was even more frustrated after the meeting. I asked that public documents distributed to the group be made available on the town website. One of those documents, a draft report by the town’s consultant entitled “Comprehensive Housing Needs Assessment” is very informative about the town’s housing needs and plans and I feel that residents have a right to view that information and discuss its contents. After all, taxpayers are paying for the report and should have access to that information.

Unfortunately, the HPPG and Town Manager both denied my request to post the draft document on the town
website. Despite the Freedom of Information Act, the Town Manager argued that he is under no obligation to post the information online, only to make the information available to the public if they come to Town Hall.

For a community to function properly, all parties must be involved and they need to have the facts to make sound decisions. Let’s not forget that government is for and by the people ... with the people being the key. Transparency is not just an empty phrase (tossed around meaninglessly too often these days by politicians) but the key to a well-functioning democracy. Transparency can be inconvenient if the facts don't neatly fit our preconceived ideas; we may need to reconsider our assumptions.

Town officials (elected and paid) are supposed to serve the people (the taxpayers). Taxpayers decide on the town’s priorities during elections and at town meeting then want town officials to carry out their wishes. However, taxpayers need all the facts and adequate time to consider and debate those facts before making a decision.

Unfortunately, the inner circle in Winchester now jointly decides an outcome and only shares enough information to support that outcome. This is not democracy and breeds mistrust and apathy. They seem to forget that vigorous debate may be uncomfortable but it produces a vibrant community with engaged residents. Too many in the inner circle forget who they serve.

Winchester will be announcing a Community Forum on March 7th to solicit input on housing needs and strategies. In order to have a productive forum, taxpayers deserve the facts even if the town will not give them a vote in the final decision. Winchester belongs to all of its residents and not to just a few select groups and town officials.

Peggy Schleicher, Lochwan Street