Update on the FinCom Saga:
You all were excellent in emailing the various FinCom members prior to their meeting last week. Your support and quick action were terrific. The options were simple – either FinCom would appoint the part-time resident described by the Town Moderator as having “excellent credentials”; or FinCom would vote to do something crazy. The latter happened.
The Committee decided that rather than appoint anyone to the alternate spot, it would keep the vacancy (already vacant for months now), vacant indefinitely. FinCom then voted, almost unanimously, to seek a warrant to Revise the Charter once again, but this time to override the voters and to exclude all part-timers from serving as alternates on FinCom .
Now let’s stop to think about this. FinCom, a non-regulatory Committee with appointed -- not elected-- members decided on its’ own (not all, but a majority) to ignore the Provincetown voters’ Charter Revision permitting part-timers to sit on Committees as alternates, and instead refused to appoint any part-timer -- at any time -- forever; and will ask the Select Board to change what the voters have already decided to do.
Brazen is one word to describe this action. There are many others.
The FinCom meeting addressing this matter is available for you to watch at PTV. Vacancies are addressed toward the end of the meeting. All letters sent to the Committee were made part of the public record. (The discussion is lengthy, but hang in there. The end has at least one member trying to follow the rules).
What to do?
PPRTA Board is already discussing forms of action and is collecting more information. But now is the time to write to various news sources (The Banner,The Provincetown Indenedent, Cape Cod Times). Explain what has happened here. Speak with your voter friends. You may not care about sitting on Committees/Boards, but that is not the point. Not to be dramatic, but it compromises governance when elected officials -- let alone non-elected officials -- opt to ignore local rules and the voters’ decisions.
A few other facts to be aware of when writing letters to editors:
1—FinCom’s Code of Conduct requires members to “follow the laws established by… the Town Charter.” If the Town Charter says part-timers can serve as alternates on non-regulatory committees (which it does), it is not up to a group of non-elected officials to simply ignore the Charter and do everything they can to circumvent it.
2—FinCom's Code of Conduct also very clearly states: "Remember that you represent the entire community at all times." (emphasis added). Last I checked part-timers are a part of the entire Provincetown community.
3—At least one FinCom alternate spot has remained vacant for at least 48 straight months. As mentioned in the last Newsletter, the seasoned Town Moderator shopped for “voters” and avoided even interviewing a part-timer. She then appointed, at the end of last year, two voters as FinCom alternates – one, the previous Town Manager who works full-time in Boston, was declared ineligible and resigned. The second alternate has showed up for exactly one meeting since his appointment at the end of last year.
4—To be clear, and in case someone tries to tell you otherwise, the Charter Compliance Commission has already held that FinCom is a non-regulatory Committee and that “a part-time resident… can serve as an alternate on the Finance Committee…”. (See Charter Compliance Commission Decision, dated September 23, 2019). So in spite of the Charter Revision (passed by the voters) and in spite of Compliance Commission interpretation of the Charter saying the revision applies to FinCom, FinCom is now saying, No thanks. We are special. Indeed, the majority opinion at FinCom viewed itself as “the zebra with the horses.” The horses being all the other committees.
5— One last point, as tempting as it may be to do otherwise – and it is truly getting more and more tempting -- please keep your letters civil and professional. For example, it may be tempting to say that the FinCom majority really meant they are “the ass with the horses.” But we will not say such things.
Once again, thank you for all your support as we continue to keep you informed and please go to www.pprta.org to support our efforts by renewing your membership for 2020.
Pat
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About the PPRTA:
The Provincetown Part-Time Resident Taxpayers Association works for the betterment of the whole community of the Town of Provincetown by providing a forum and a voice for the interests of Provincetown part-time resident taxpayers, most of whom must make their voting residence elsewhere.
Goals
Maintain and support the unique quality of life that exists in Provincetown.
Advocate for representation on budget-related issues for part-time residents of Provincetown.
Provide a forum for part-time resident taxpayers to communicate with local, regional and state governments.
Encouraging the participation of part-time residents in all aspects of the community.
