Dear Editor,
All the controversy at town hall got me thinking.
Why does it seem that things are going backward in Princeton?
We certainly have no shortage of economic opportunity.
So I took a look at the resources available to support the mayor and council.
The first thing that struck me is that there seems to be no management expertise in the area of public works.
Up until the early 90s there was a superintendent of public works.
His responsibility was the operation and maintenance of all public works, including roads, water and sewer among other things.
This requires a specialized level of expertise which has been missing ever since.
When the position was eliminated the town clerk at the time was given a pay raise and the responsibility for public works without any training.
Over the years the situation has continued and it has been nearly 30 years since some critical public works issues have been addressed.
So my question to the current mayor and council is: Why do we have a chief administrative officer – a position applicable to a far larger town than ours, and no superintendent of public works?
Would we not be better served with a town clerk and a superintendent of public works?
Ed Muckle
Princeton
