Letter: Tiverton council thought it through, got it right

Posted 3/20/19

To the editor:

In retrospect, I now realize how fortunate I was to attend the Tiverton Town Council meeting on Monday, March 11, 2019. The town administrator requested the transfer of funds from …

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Letter: Tiverton council thought it through, got it right

Posted

To the editor:

In retrospect, I now realize how fortunate I was to attend the Tiverton Town Council meeting on Monday, March 11, 2019. The town administrator requested the transfer of funds from the Capital Reserve Account in order to purchase engines for the harbormaster’s boat. Every council member, the town administrator and the solicitor all agreed that it was a necessary purchase.

However, Mr. Katz eloquently and reluctantly mentioned the fact that there were no provisions in the law for using funds from this account. Pragmatic Ms. De Medeiros attempted to determine the intent of the writers of this regulation. All the above took the concern seriously and politely exchanged ideas as to how to satisfy the letter of the law and, at the same time, get the appropriation approved in a timely fashion for the good of the town.

Teacher/scholar/Council Member Trish Hilton provided sound advice. President Coulter refused to be rushed to a decision and patiently allowed each member to have their say. The final decision was to have the town administrator and the solicitor review all suggestions and options and expediently come up with a solution that will satisfy all parties. This is true democracy in action. It is slow and messy.

I commend all involved parties for a job well done. The tape of this meeting should be required viewing as a teaching tool for all our institutions. It is a prime example of working to find the balance between the mind and the heart; logic and intuition; yin and yang and all other extremes of duality. Fortunately, our Creator had the wisdom to create us with both a mind and a heart.

Literally interpreting any document written in symbols is how a robot is programmed. Using only instinct or intuition is how an animal survives. We are called to be better than this and the council demonstrated this on Monday evening. Hopefully, they will follow up and amend the regulation.

Gerrie Brodeur

Tiverton

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