Quote:
Originally Posted by ITD
I think the SB-2 creators knew full well that power had already been concentrated into the hands of few in cities and that city residents would jump at the chance to have the amount of say in the city's affairs as a town meeting member has. Distributing power from a mayor/council type government to a town meeting type government, would upset the well established patronage/hack system already in place...
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I respectfully disagree. And to also answer FLL's question, the handful of incorporated cities in New Hampshire operate under many different rules than
the majority of communities in NH, which are towns that operate under the town meeting or SB-2 form of government.
Quite frankly, if I ever move further north to a town in my homestate here, I would probably prefer an SB-2 community for a number of reasons...some already articulated by FLL, ITD and others.
However, in a City by incorporating and being granted a charter by the State a whole new environment exists, mainly due to the substantial size difference and complexity of the cities versus the towns in NH.
But even in a city a group of citizens always retain the right to petition for a charter change and revoke city status and return to a town form of government. Case in point? There are a group of citizens in the City of Somersworth currently exploring this option.
Buy even in a City a single citizen, or a handful of citizens can effect change. In my City of Dover a single citizen was able to open the books and reveal massive retirement fraud. Another handful of citizens instituted a petition drive and last fall at the City election were able to get the city charter amended and we now have a much needed tax cap in the City of Dover.
Yes, there is ample corruption, deception & ineptitude found throughout government. Just as there is in many of the private industries that dot our landscape. On the other side of the coin there are many folks in government, and the programs and departments they represent, that truly make NH the attractive state to live, love & play in that it is!
My point is that an informed citizenry is the best defense against perceived government run amuck. Many times a little research will reveal that no problem truly exists, or may reveal a scathig indictment of a system, as the retirement system fiasco was revealed in Dover.
The problem is simple. Too many folks, whether they live in a town or a city, take their voting privilege to lightly and fail to excercise their right to participate and make positive or effective change. When that occurs, government operates in a vacuum. And that vacuum has a tendency to "suck" our money!
I said it before and at the risk of being redundant I'll say it again....when it comes to the political shortcomings of our communities, our State or our Country we have met the enemy, and thet is us!