It seems to me that our current "town attorney" has not been serving our BOS or other town government very well this past year. If our BOS is getting actually getting and following advice from the attorney then why are we facing lawsuits from former employees? I could be wrong but I would think attorneys for any town would be following rules and regulations that benefit their client, the town. If anyone in our government is not properly following rules and regulations it should not be the town attorney's job to shield that person or entity.
The town attorney is appointed and overseen by the BOS. So, in the closest sense, they work for the BOS. The BOS works for the town. Thus the town attorney is one step removed from working for the town. As such, if there's a conflict between what's good for the town and what's good for the people who hired them, they're going to either have to do what's good for the people who hired them, or lose their job.
There's also the issue of the agency problem. Agents - in this case, the town attorney - are incentivized to do what is in their best interests, even if doing so is not in the best interests of their client, so long as the client is unable to perceive what's going on.
Doug, this is once again a tremendous amount of information to download and you’ve done a great job clearly laying it all out. Thank you for all the time and effort you’ve put into this.
Thank you for bringing all this information. There are many who are concerned about how this was handled. If speaks volumes that The BOS is trying to block this review. As you said if nothing was done wrong there should be no reason to block a review.
It seems to me that our current "town attorney" has not been serving our BOS or other town government very well this past year. If our BOS is getting actually getting and following advice from the attorney then why are we facing lawsuits from former employees? I could be wrong but I would think attorneys for any town would be following rules and regulations that benefit their client, the town. If anyone in our government is not properly following rules and regulations it should not be the town attorney's job to shield that person or entity.
So, who exactly does a town attorney work for?
The town attorney is appointed and overseen by the BOS. So, in the closest sense, they work for the BOS. The BOS works for the town. Thus the town attorney is one step removed from working for the town. As such, if there's a conflict between what's good for the town and what's good for the people who hired them, they're going to either have to do what's good for the people who hired them, or lose their job.
There's also the issue of the agency problem. Agents - in this case, the town attorney - are incentivized to do what is in their best interests, even if doing so is not in the best interests of their client, so long as the client is unable to perceive what's going on.
As long as their fees come from taxpayers that is who they work for IMHO
Excellent citizen journalism as always!
Thank you Doug. I greatly appreciate all you are doing to keep us informed.
Doug, this is once again a tremendous amount of information to download and you’ve done a great job clearly laying it all out. Thank you for all the time and effort you’ve put into this.
Excellent writing and clearly you have proven to me of the BOS wrong-doings.
Thank you for bringing all this information. There are many who are concerned about how this was handled. If speaks volumes that The BOS is trying to block this review. As you said if nothing was done wrong there should be no reason to block a review.
They might very well be only listening to the attorneys on these matters.
I think that excuse has expired.
Once again, outstanding work from Mr. Bates.
The citizens of Nottingham salute you.
Absolutely disgusting, disgraceful, reprehensible, dishonest behavior from the BoS.
Have to wonder what they think they’ll gain from this other than a strong vote of no confidence at this weekends deliberative session.
Also have to wonder what they’re so desperately trying to hide?
Imagine going to these lengths over nothing?
The humiliation they’ve brought to Nottingham is unacceptable.
Power is with the people, the citizens, it’s time for this BoS group to move on before they cause any more damage to our community.