It is a sad day in Mudville. Mighty Casey has struck out and the home team has lost. Unfortunately, today, it is not a game, nor a children’s poem. Today, the residents and voters of Independence Township have lost.
With a heavy heart on this day I think it is time we ask Dave Wagner to step down — resign from his position as Independence Township Supervisor. It is not something I ask lightly. It is a gravely serious matter, but at this time for the betterment of Independence.
To our knowledge we have never asked this of another public official, yet I ask it today.
I have sat, watched, listened and read about what has happened in Independence. It makes me sad. I used to work for the township, back before I started working for the newspaper . . . and I have worked for this company for a few weeks less than 25 years. I was a seasonal worker for the Department of Public Works, but mostly I worked at Lakeview Cemetery. It’s how I earned money for college. So, I tend to take things personally, which I probably really shouldn’t.
Let’s be frank. The township is broken.
Boardmembers are openly hostile and show no respect to each other during public meetings. Members of the audience are openly hostile and show no respect to each other during public meetings. Policies have been enacted to limit audience participation. Elected officials point fingers at township employees; township employees point fingers at elected officials. Township employees don’t like coming to work.
I received news this week, that one township employee has taken a leave of absence — stress related, because of the work environment within township walls. The employee’s doctor, in a sense, says the work environment isn’t conducive for good health.
Employee relations are so bad, taxpayers were forced to hire and pay nearly $100,000 a year for a human resource person to handle labor negotiations, hirings and firings.
A new township hall was bought without the express approval of township voters.
In an economic time when the township will need long-term solutions, hard decisions, sacrifice and its best thinking, none of this can happen in its current state of shambles, because everybody is too busy pointing fingers and watching their backs.
It is so bad, some members of the community have rallied, gone to court and are petitioning to have Mr. Wagner recalled. This has and will continue to waste precious township money. Not to mention, leave a bad taste in everybody’s mouth.
But, at least some taxpayers are getting more involved in local government, which is a good thing.
As I sit here and type, I can see no one is to blame and everyone is to blame, but it really doesn’t matter. Independence Township is a dysfunctional operation, full of disharmony. The man at the head, the township’s leader, is Mr. Wagner and as such, he must take the lion’s share of the criticism. All this happened under his watch. Which is why I am writing this column.
But, it doesn’t end there. Each boardmember needs to ask why they ran in the first place. Did they run to be ‘right? all the time? Did they run to pad their resume; to get lifetime health insurance; or as a stepping stone for political careers . . . or to be good neighbors?
This community needs a leader. This community needs somebody to pry-open the windows, to let the light of transparency shine on government operations. This community needs a person, a leader, to stand up and admit when they are wrong, because that is when they are doing their dangedest to do what is right.
I read a letter the other day with a gist of this: sometime ago, being a public servant has evolved into public entitlement. We need to reverse this trend.
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