Another election has come and gone and the question is will it make any difference at all for the citizens of the town of Windham. I will not hide the fact that I have supported many of those that will sit on the new council even though I might not agree with everything they want to accomplish for the citizens of Windham. This time I am more optimistic that Windham will have councilors that can work together, but I have had similar beliefs in the past only to be disappointed after a period of time.

I believe that this new council needs to set a serious set of goals that are attainable under their watch or have enough of a good start so following councils can complete them. I also believe that they should not overload themselves or the town staff so that projects can be completed instead of being put on the backburner, incomplete or just plain forgotten about.

The councilors need to broaden their horizon in order to fund projects through grants, whether from local individuals or from state or federal sources and ensure that town staff accomplishes that goal. I have read too many articles in newspapers where municipalities receive grants for water improvement and other projects while some in Windham government proclaim there are no government grants available. It’s also time to connect to our elected representatives in Congress to do the same.

Although I thought I would never say this, I now believe one of biggest priorities for Windham should be the completion of the Windham Comprehensive Master Plan. If I read the town manager’s notes correctly that will not happen for another three or so years. That’s way too far into the future. Windham has stumbled several times with the comp plan so I think the best thing to do is complete it by the end of 2014. If it needs more updating, keep working at it but at least start with a solid base that works for Windham. That might seem like an unattainable goal and it will be if our elected officials believe it can’t be accomplished.

Taking a quick look at nine committees with over 20 vacancies, this new council must improve its process of seeking applicants to fill those vacant positions on committees. The total debacle over the application of a volunteer for a committee by the last council was a total disgrace to every member of the council. Maybe it’s time to make the entire process open to the public in case there is bias by members of the council. There’s a whole lot of room for improvement for Windham to accomplish this including removing town staff from the process. Windham is a town that has many people with talent to improve our town and it’s time we have a government that allows that to happen. I am sure there are many retirees with some sort of expertise to assist town staff and yet town hall has resisted this effort.

Yes, I have some of my own goals that some councilors agree with. I think that it is a total disgrace that a town with a population over 17,000 has a town office open four days a week, even less when holidays occur. Maybe it’s possible to hire a few more town employees instead of increasing the town manager’s salary while ticking off citizens by shutting off streetlights in their neighborhoods.

There are several more goals this council should attain. It’s time for a new law firm to represent Windham. A new auditing firm is long overdue. Windham town councilors must have direct access to town employees in order to complete their tasks. Even more important than anything else, leadership meetings must be open to the public and recorded by the Windham Town Clerk.

“Elections belong to the people. It’s their decision. If they decide to turn their back on the fire and burn their behinds, then they will just have to sit on their blisters.”

Abraham Lincoln

Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, believes it’s time to have a government that is open to all. He has no doubt that didn’t happen with the past council, especially leadership.