MANSFIELD’S DO-NOTHING COMMITTEE MEETS AGAIN, PASSES THE BUCK AGAIN

By Bill Sosis, J.D.

I attended tonight's public meeting. Here's what I continue to see: residents are showing up, speaking up, and trying to get the committee to do the work it should already be doing. Meanwhile, the Township Committee keeps shifting responsibility back onto the public.

A recurring issue is zoning enforcement. Residents continue to be frustrated that ongoing issues remain unresolved and that they are told to chase down a part-time zoning officer or handle the matter themselves.

Residents are given no practical answers. No clear contact path, no immediate guidance, and no sense of accountability that anyone in authority intends to take charge. The committee keeps regurgitating the same lame excuses: it's the residents' responsibility. Week after week, year after year, residents keep being sent in circles while enforcement systems fail to function.

Instead of solving problems, the committee is obsessed with building fences around the problems. Incredibly, now they're talking about HIRING AN ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT OFFICER. Why? Because the current zoning officer, Tom Silvia, apparently doesn't like doing his job of pursuing and enforcing zoning violations!!! At the same time, the non-elected committeeman, Brent Connelly, reported that hiring an enforcement officer might raise expectations while having little to no effect on improving the residents' complaints about Tom Silvia. So, again, instead of addressing the poor performance issues with Tom Silvia, the committee is now considering hiring a SECOND enforcing officer to spare Tom Silvia the displeasure of having to do his job. This is just another example of how this committee is squandering taxpayer dollars!

Another issue tonight was the audio quality during the meeting. During the new business portion, Watters and the committee were speaking quietly, leaning back, and could not be heard. When I said I could not hear them, Watters immediately decided he would not address the problem by using the microphones properly or by acknowledging his committee’s obligation to communicate clearly. Instead, the burden was again pushed onto the audience. Saying people should move closer. This is the way Watters thinks. It's a culture of total public apathy, symbolic of a mindset in which even small, fixable problems are handed back to residents rather than being owned by the committee.

Despite this horrible mayor and committee, I AM INCREDIBLY IMPRESSED BY OUR RESIDENTS AND THEIR RESOLVE TO KEEP TRYING TO HOLD THIS DO-NOTHING COMMITTEE ACCOUNTABLE, follow the law, and address the public's grievances. Mansfield residents are AMAZING and so PRAISEWORTHY. They attend these meetings, take time after work, return week after week, organize their concerns, learn the issues, and present strong, sound, and legal arguments. That effort is evidence of how much residents care deeply about the town and want problems solved. The frustration comes from having to repeat themselves because the same concerns remain open.

I also have a criticism of how agendas are structured. Ordinances and listed items can be researched in advance because documents are posted. However, “new business” is different. It often arrives with little detail, making it crucial that the public can hear the discussion live and understand what is being considered. If the discussion cannot be heard or known in advance, residents lose the only real chance to know what is happening in that moment. For example, the discussion of hiring a NEW zoning enforcement officer was listed in tonight's agenda as "Code Enforcement Officer". To me, this vague and meaningless topic says nothing without more. This is another problem residents should have with this committee. The law controlling says these minutes and agendas are judged through notice and transparency principles. That means they must be understandable enough to inform the public about upcoming new businesses. These 3 words under "new business" say absolutely nothing. Moreover, even if residents knew in advance what this was going to be about, by the time the committee addresses "new business", residents are no longer permitted to comment.

In sum, Mansfield residents are carrying more of the accountability load than the people elected to carry it. They attend, document, question, and persist. Meanwhile, basic communication, enforcement response, and ownership of problems appear nonexistent.

When citizens work harder than the committee persons meant to serve them, it's time to vote them out!!!