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Submit your thoughts to the PulseLine right here.
For the last number of years, Dan Howard and the G&E board have made transparency one of their top priorities, however, the process that they recently completed to replace Dan Howard was anything but transparent—it was veiled and somewhat shady. I have been an avid supporter of the G&E for many years and have been following the process of replacing Dan Howard closely, but I was unaware anything was happening until it was over. As I understand it, out of 70 applicants, only two were interviewed and both were/are G&E employees. I don’t know much about the individual who was selected, and perhaps at the end of the day he was the correct choice, but this was an inside job from the beginning and I couldn’t be more disappointed with Dan Howard and the G&E board. There was no reason to keep this process under wraps. To Dan Howard, I had a great deal of respect for you and the job you performed, I am sorry to see much of that good work washed away by your involvement in this process. You should be ending your career on a high note, not sinking to a low point by spearheading a veiled appointment. To members of the G&E Board, you have a limited number of responsibilities in your role, hiring the Manager of the G&E is one of them. Congratulations, you failed to do the most important responsibility you have. It is my understanding that out of 70 applicants, not one of you received any of the applications/resumes—I am astonished. How can you hire the highest paid official in Westfield without looking at an application or resume? You represent the taxpayers in the City of Westfield; you are elected by your neighbors and often times family and friends in your ward, all expecting you to do a good job. You couldn’t have performed any worse and please don’t hide behind any part of the process that removes you from decision-making, that is your job. You were part of the shady process and that couldn’t reflect more poorly on your behavior. I hope you are proud of yourselves—the public is not. Sincerely, M.B., a former Westfield G&E supporter.
I understand the concerns of northside residents but you should not hold the rest of the city hostage to increasing property taxes because you don’t want businesses on that side of town. Many moons ago when I was looking to buy my first home in Westfield, I specifically did not buy on the northside because of the airport, and potential for commercial development. Which, by the way, has been the landscape of Westfield for more than 100 years. This isn’t something new! I recommend property tax increases go to only those people in Wards 1 and 6 because they are the ones fighting the businesses that will pay the bill. Do I love the remoteness of Ward 1? Absolutely. But I didn’t want to raise my family there. Others should have put more thought into where to live, like I did, rather than force 42,000 residents to pay higher property taxes.
Anybody die recently from drinking Westfield water? Yeah, I didn’t think so.
