Transparency
Is Needed

Goodness gracious! What a spectacular show our selectboard put on this past Tuesday evening when they held a minimally warned meeting to discuss what I guess was the pros and cons of either moving the town offices to the Condo unit or keeping them in their present location.

I say I'm guessing, because they went into executive session, without explaining why it was necessary and without any attempt to listen to Randolph citizens who had assembled for the meeting.

It seemed odd that only one citizen was allowed into executive session and for unexplained reasons. After executive session they re-opened the meeting to the public but then proceeded to immediately close the meeting, once again without allowing public comment.

From a legal perspective, the head of the selectboard apparently complied with the letter of the law in all of his actions, as any good attorney should. But this show on Tuesday night raised an important question for our citizens.

Is the current selectboard acting in the best interests of the citizens who elected them? Tuesday night's spectacle left this spectator with a taste of Vermont democracy at its worst.

I hope we see more open and transparent meetings in the future. Randolph deserves it.

Sonny Holt

Randolph