Silencing A Voice Of Experience On The Charlestown Budget Commission
On July 8, the current Charlestown Town Council majority removed a highly qualified and experienced member of the Budget Commission, Dick Sartor. Mr. Sartor had applied to be reappointed, and he was not. This sacking of Mr. Sartor was carried out by a Town Council majority that says institutional knowledge, and qualifications, are of utmost importance in government.
Mr. Sartor was, until July 8, the chair of the Commission. He had served admirably on the Commission for almost 20 years. He has a bachelor’s degree in business administration and a master’s degree in public administration. He has over 40 years of experience in town and city management, and he served as Charlestown’s Town Administrator in the early 2000s. He is skilled in budgetary preparation, planning, and evaluation of fiscal proposals.
The Budget Commission advises the Town Council on budgetary matters. The reason the Council’s action is so completely mind boggling is that our town has seen its Town Administrator of 10 years forced out by this Council majority, has had two Town Treasurers leave, and is now on its third auditing firm—all since November 2022.
Were it not for Dick Sartor’s experience and skill at the helm of the Budget Commission, the town would not have been able to develop the 2024–2025 budget on time this past June. There was no draft budget; there was no audit of the previous year’s finances; and there was little to no institutional knowledge in the Finance Department.
With Mr. Sartor at the helm of the Budget Commission, Charlestown was the first town in the state to develop a written Fund Balance Policy, which was based on an independent evaluation of the risks the town faces.
In good part because of Mr. Sartor’s service, Charlestown is one of the most solvent towns in the state, has been able to achieve a tax rate that is among the lowest in Rhode Island, and has, at the same time, provided excellent government services to taxpayers.
The loss of Mr. Sartor’s knowledge, experience, and institutional knowledge is unfortunate. One can only wonder why the Town Council majority would remove Mr. Sartor’s practiced eye from oversight of the town’s budget.
The banner image is a photo of a Barred Owl by Thomas Tetzner. The owl is a symbol of wisdom traced to Greek mythology, where the goddess of wisdom, Athena, was often represented as an owl.
Bonnie Van Slyke, the author of this post, is a candidate for Town Council in the 2024 election. She was a member of the Charlestown Town Council from 2014 to 2022. She was the Town Council Liaison to the Planning Commission, Parks and Recreation Commission, and Senior Citizens Commission. She is a former officer and member of the Board of Directors of the Frosty Drew Observatory & Science Center, a former Chair of the Zoning Board of Appeals in Harvard, MA and a former member of the Board of Trustees of the Harvard Conservation Trust. Bonnie is a freelance copy editor, technical writer, and publications specialist. Bonnie writes occasionally about governance issues in Charlestown.
July 20, 2024 @ 8:14 pm
I just read a LTE by none other than Wil Collette regarding the dismissal of Dick Sartor. I now realize I haven’t had a good laugh in a long while and thought Mr. Collette had imploded his computer. He states that the Carney Budget Conspiracy of a few year ago was the reason Dick should have resigned. Carney called for s “Forensic Audit” that her colleagues on the Town Council rejected. So now Carney has the whip and yet no Forensic Audit has been initiated, I wonder why? Was it all a silly ploy? It evidently fooled old Willie!
July 16, 2024 @ 5:31 pm
I agree that Dick Sartor would have been one of the ablest people applying for a reappointment to the Budget Commission. This council has also fairly consistently disregarded the input of advisories from the Planning Commission, and the Climate Resiliency Commission. The only ones they have taken notice of and promoted are the Ordinance and Charter Revision Commissions which are primarily composed of their handpicked appointees who may not always be the most qualified. They have appointed an occasional token person to these Commissions who is very much in the minority. Advisories from Commissions with expertise and staff would normally be considered very carefully with maybe minor adjustments, not wholesale disregard. That is disrespecting the knowledge and experience of qualified staff personnel and the body in question. CCA candidates have for many years prior to this election been able to keep the town secure and well run and listened to the town’s needs. The values they espouse are very similar to what was evidenced in the results of the town wide survey which is on the town’s website for you to view- namely protecting our resources like water and open space, salt ponds, dark skies, peace and quiet, being careful with your money, and keeping the character of Charlestown we love using their expertise and passion to do so. Dick Sartor was a recent example of good knowledge and experience ignored.
July 15, 2024 @ 8:33 am
Dick is probably the most rock solid, do what is best for the town, person I know. We need him on the Budget Commission. The Council might say it is time for new blood, and mostly that is true, but when it comes to finance you need and want the institutional knowledge, especially with the turn over which has occurred on the Town Staff. Bad move by this Council.
July 12, 2024 @ 9:06 am
I hope the people of Charlestown wake up and realize that this Town Council is being manipulated and is manipulating the taxpayers so that they can consolidate their power and cut out the voters from the public process.
It’s time to start fresh and compare the new candidates with the entrenched bureaucracy that turns a deaf ear to the desires of the people. This Town Council is very disappointing.