This week’s column comes from the fact that I watched the last two Windham Town Council meetings. I don’t always watch all of the meetings because if I did I would end up in the Funny Farm although some in government would more than likely state it would be a short trip for me to take. I certainly had high hopes for Windham’s present councilors as they seemed like a group of elected officials who had nothing but the best interests of the folks who voted them into office instead of looking after friends or relatives.

Maybe it took 20 years of military service for me to realize that one must lead by example, which is something sorely lacking in Windham town government proven yet again when this council attempted to establish its finance committee to work on the upcoming town budget for the next fiscal year. After the temper tantrums, bullying and Councilor Noel stating he wouldn’t have any part of the finance committee, I have to conclude that a bunch of first-graders could do a better job than the councilors did. What’s even worse, it sets a precedent for things to come that the councilors will have to work on.

No matter if I want to or not, this is the one year that I will pay the most attention to Windham’s town budget because there is no way that I would want to carve one with all the uncertainties about the finances of our federal and state budgets. I don’t see an increase of any funding like revenue sharing, unless there is a huge improvement in our economy or an increase in taxation at all levels. I have no doubt that little will be known about those funds until some time after our councilors have to decide what the budget should be that will be voted on at a Windham town meeting in June. I certainly hope that all town councilors can sit down together and complete the process in a manner that benefits all citizens of Windham.

I do not want to trivialize the budget process for Windham but there are other areas where our town needs attention or even worse, correction. Since it’s the beginning of a new year, I hope that this will be the town council that reopens our town hall to five days a week. Sometimes it’s not justified to make a change solely because of a shortfall in our town budget. When municipalities under 1,000 residents can have their town halls open for business not only five days a week but one evening a week and a couple of Saturdays a month, it shows a lack of leadership and a willingness to take the hard road for a decision that benefits those served by town hall. Small towns also have operating transfer stations and bulky waste programs and Windham has nothing.

“Definition of an elephant. A mouse built to government specifications.”

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Lane Hiltunen, of Windham, wonders what happened to global warming.