There is an underlying story on the issue of the library renaming (Item, Dec. 5) that is a city-wide situation which requires remediation:
Most, if not all of the citizen committees, which include the Historic Commission, the Trustees of the Grand Army of the Republic, and the Trustees of the Library — that I am personally aware of — have boards that have been understaffed for years on end.
This means, as it was pointed out in the Item article on the library, that even if there is a quorum of appointed members, the city can invalidate their vote.
The city, through the mayor’s office, is responsible for appointing members to the boards. The City Council then votes on the board appointments.
The lack of fully-appointed boards has created a virtual filibuster power over any trustees or commissioners who are appointed by the city from the city itself.
There is a chance to change policies that are in place by practice (I have never been shown anything official after repeated requests) which also bar any citizen from serving on more than one city committee.
For example, one of the Historic Committee members who has served the city in various capacities over the years, including serving as a history teacher at English High School, has spent her retirement continuing to give back to the city of Lynn. She is interested in serving on another committee where her years of experience would be extremely valuable, but can not.
As the city finds it difficult to populate the boards and commissions to fill the required seats, why can not the practice be adjusted to allow interested parties to serve?
Why can not the city bylaws that decide the number of board members be amended to reflect the reality of this ongoing situation? Is this because the city is not interested in actually having to abide by the votes of mere citizens?
As the mayor said during his remarks at the City Council meeting recently, “it is common practice for municipalities to revisit and update … to better reflect the current state of our City.”
The city certainly can — and continues to change things to suit their needs. Significant zoning changes along the waterfront were voted in last Tuesday to affect their desired outcomes, monies are transferred back and forth between accounts within a department (and at times from different departments) to be able to deal with cash flow issues in order to effectively do their business of running the city.
The board members, commissioners and trustees who are appointed and actually show up take their responsibilities seriously. Time and good will for pro bono work are in short supply these days, and it is only getting shorter.
Whatever the pros and cons are regarding the renaming of the Library, it is time for the city to amend the bylaws which effectively hamstring their own appointees’ decisions. Otherwise, those appointed are left to feel, “why even bother?”
Wendy Joseph