Public Servants are not indentured servants. That's true.
BUT some seem to have an overinflated sense of importance. Public Servants (otherwise known as people who are employed to Serve the Public) have a responsibility that requires courtesy, respect, and civility to those who employ them.
So what do you call a town employee who:
1. Sends out "overdue property tax" notices to town residents who have paid their taxes - and then forces those residents to obtain a cancelled check to prove that the taxes were paid (after the resident has provided the check number, date of check issuance, date of check clearance at the local bank, and amount of the check) - not to mention the cost of obtaining the copy of the cancelled check....and then doesn't even say, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience."?
2. Keeps town residents waiting while she conducts personal phone calls on town office phones and time?
3. Acts rudely to town residents (and tax payers) when they come in to register their vehicles?
4. Decides that a town resident shouldn't have a blogspot that is named in part for the town - and decides to file a complaint with a state government agency because of the blogspot's name (as though she never heard of the First Amendment)?
WHO? An employee of the town of Clifton... That's who.
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We have a procedure at the town office that has been in effect for a number of years. Citizen's complaint forms are available in the town office for those who are dissatisfied with the conduct or professionalism of personnel. Simply request a form, fill it out, sign it and submit it to one of the office staff. It will be reviewed at the next Select Board meeting and appropriate action taken. You are welcome to attend. At present we have an Administrative Assistant and a clerk employed part yime in the office. To date we have not received a complaint about either one. Penny Peasley
ReplyDeleteI welcome the information and hope others will add their remarks/comments.
ReplyDeleteI do think envelopes need to be provided (or individuals should take the forms home to complete and then mail the forms to the Board of Selectpersons - marked Confidential - so that no one precessing the forms can read the contents). Otherwise the form might not reach the Board, especially if the complaint is about the person processing the form.
Another thought - some people work nights and are unable to attend Board meetings which is why Selectman LeClaire's blog is really beneficial to the community since it provides some measure of information about what is discussed at Board meetings. Makes one wonder why the employee in question reportedly filed a complaint at the state level about his blog.
FYI - any person can title their blogspot anything they chose (as long as it's not indecent or a registered title infringement), including the name of a town. Look at the name of my blogspot. Since I was the first person to request that name I got it. Simple as that. Since a blog is not an official government website (in which case it would be a .gov site) anyone can claim a town or state's name, which is also true for a website (under .com or .org). So, perhaps the employee didn't like the idea that she might be the subject of discussion.
As for the other "issues" people brought to my attention, I'll leave it up to them to comment if they choose. Citizen Complaint forms are good - IF they can get to the parties who need to see them AND if the citizen complaining sees, in some way, that some action is taken to address/correct the issue behind the complaint.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
R.