Put public first

Wiscasset used to have a "Public Comment" or, as it is now called, "Citizen Comment" period on the agenda right after the meeting opens. For some time now, it has been put at the bottom of the agenda. Any town that is lucky enough to have citizens attending selectmen's meetings, budget committee meetings, or any other meetings of boards and committees should make the best accommodations possible to allow the public to speak.

Making the public wait until the meeting is nearly over is frustrating for those who have come to ask questions about a particular issue. There's no reason why it shouldn't be put back to the beginning of the meeting.

While we're talking about meetings, newly elected selectman Phil DiVece asked at his first meeting in January if there were any communications to the board. Isn't this something that should be on the agenda every week? Are we to assume that in the two weeks between selectmen's meetings, no one wrote a letter to the selectmen or the town manager?

Some towns and cities routinely put copies of all correspondence in a notebook for members of the press to read (except those documents exempted by the right to know law). This is an idea worthy of discussion at future meetings. While the right to know law provides protection for people's reputations and their right to privacy, the law also provides protection for the taxpayers who have a right to know what their representatives are doing on their behalf and how their money is being spent.