Bonnie Van Slyke

Rather than have an authentic conversation over the issue of the balance of experience on the Zoning Board of Review, Mr. Cahir chose to deflect using a groundless personal attack on a town volunteer and his family. He is certainly free to express those opinions. However, misrepresentation and making stuff up are not OK and are not only dishonest but toxic. Mr. Cahir needs to disagree better.

How will real discussions and debates occur when members of the public are not able to participate fully? Allowing citizens to ask questions, provide input, and offer comments is essential to an open and transparent government. Not gathering the information available and then weighing all the evidence in order to make considered decisions is not transparent, is not in the best interests of the citizens of the town, and also makes no sense.

The Charlestown Town Council is conducting important business in special meetings that are scheduled randomly at the call of the Council. As a result, being an informed citizen in Charlestown in 2023 has suddenly become a formidable task, and instead of fostering more transparency and more citizen participation, using special meetings for important business has resulted in less, much less, of both.

When: Tuesday, March 21 at 7 p.m.
Where: Charlestown Town Hall
What: N.O. Bar, LLC, is requesting a Special Use Permit to construct a bar on an existing deck and appealing Charlestown’s Zoning Official’s ruling that the new use is an Outdoor Café. N.O. Bar is located at 523 Charlestown Beach Road.

Mr. Stankiewicz, a true professional, would have served the new Council well, as he has served a number of other Town Councils. Claims seemingly used to justify forcing Mr. Stankiewicz to leave are petty and inaccurate. As a result, the new Council is now wasting time searching for a new Town Administrator, instead of focusing on pressing town matters.

Charlestown taxpayers are served by a dedicated Town staff. For example, during the pandemic, ours was the only town in the state to provide uninterrupted services to our residents, and to those who needed assistance, even during the worst of Covid-19. Most Charlestown residents correctly understand that their Town is well managed and have every reason to be happy about the state of its fiscal health.

At the Charlestown Town Council meeting on December 12, town employees were again attacked for being paid for work they had performed. These attacks smear the reputations of town employees who have been committed, even during the global pandemic, to providing top-quality services to the people who call Charlestown home.

The law requires that employees be compensated for all their regular work hours. Before alleging, again, that a serious problem exists and before accusing Town staff, falsely, of a serious misdeed, Mr. Hoff should recognize that Charlestown’s method of calculating its employees’ hourly pay is standard practice and has not created a long-standing “silent liability” that needed to be paid. Charlestown paid its employees for the hours they worked.

I am humbled to have served the Town of Charlestown for eight years and I thank the citizens of the town for the opportunity. The town is in excellent shape. Much of the credit for this goes to our town administrator, Mark Stankiewicz. He has guided the town commendably well, under the direction of the Town Council, for approximately nine years. Without his excellent leadership, our town would not be where it is today.

The taxpayers of Charlestown can have confidence that $3 million of their hard-earned money is not missing and that their taxes have been spent as they authorized. Further, they can be assured that the town is well positioned to weather an emergency. Telling a tale about an accounting error that does not exist and implying that there is fraud that also does not exist in order to try to confuse some people to gain political advantage does the town a grave disservice.

On February 14, the Charlestown Town Council will continue to consider adopting a written fund balance policy. The discussion has been continued so that all residents will have ample time to review and digest the issues involved. The question that such a fund balance policy would address is, how would Charlestown maintain financial stability over time and also have the capacity to recover from a major hurricane or other disaster?

How would Charlestown’s surplus (unassigned fund balance) maintain financial stability and capacity to recover from a major hurricane or other disaster? On January 10, the Charlestown Town Council will consider this question and potentially take action upon a fund balance policy, a policy containing principles to guide present and future financial decisions.

Statements that Charlestown Town Councilors, duly elected by voters, have repeatedly refused to place items on agendas are simply not true. There is no requirement that any item brought forward by a Town Councilor must be put on the next agenda. The Council may consider whether other items need immediate attention, whether an item is ready for discussion or whether it needs further research, and whether the item can be better addressed in another way, such as administratively.

Now thanks to Charlestown’s open space, regulatory standards, and the hard work of Charlestown Building Official Joseph Warner and other town staff, home owners will receive a 20% discount on flood insurance.