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Trust becoming an issue in village

Once again, James Lynden is at odds with fellow Fredonia Village Board members — and with good reason, in our opinion.

Lynden says a recent decision transferring job duties between a couple of village positions should get rescinded, because the board members never formally agreed to the position by voting on a resolution.

Trustee EvaDawn Bashaw said a resolution wasn’t necessary.

In our opinion, even if not legally necessary the board should have had a discussion explaining the reason for the change and then a vote on the resolution.

In addition to transparency, creating a public record of the change is a good reason to take formal action during a Village Board meeting. Often times, new public officials come into a job and wonder why things are set up a certain way and no one knows because decisions were made as administrative actions with no note-taking or rationale written down.

If there is a good reason for moving a meter reader from the Streets Department to the Water Treatment Plant, say so publicly and have a vote. In our opinion, if the employee’s pay and job description haven’t changed, the public discussion should have been short — and everybody who cares could have easily found out why the change was made.

If Fredonia Village Board members are willing to take action behind closed doors on small matters, why would we trust they will take action in public on something embarassing to the village?

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