I went through the minutes for the past several months of meetings of the Ranlo Commissioners and looked at the items voted on or proposed for a vote. How I would have voted on each issue and why is below
May Meeting
Certification of Response Letter to Local Government Commission- Passed 5-0. I most likely would have voted in favor. I can’t say with 100% certainty as I have not seen the letter up for vote. That being said, Town Manager Jonathan Blanton has demonstrated numerous times that he writes appropriate, well reasoned responses supported with facts in official communications. I trust that this was up to his usual standards of excellence.
Certification of the town’s response to S.L. 2019-19- Passed 5-0. As with the previous response letter I haven’t seen the content but trust that it addressed what it needed to. I would have voted in favor.
Awarding of Fiscal Year 2021 Audit contract- Passed 5-0. The trend for this meeting is that there are items I can only make an educated guess because I don’t have all the details. Given the unanimous vote I suspect that the Commissioners chose a clearly superior proposal that met the requirements put out for bid. I would have most likely voted in favor.
Renewal of Law Enforcement Mutual Aid Agreement- Passed 5-0. I would have voted in favor of this. Ranlo needs to have working agreements with neighboring municipalities in regards to law enforcement to support and be supported for issues that cross town boundaries.
Change of Town Holidays- Passed 5-0. I would have voted against this. The motion added several paid holidays in lieu of raises for town employees. I have concerns that the holidays would become permanent additions to the town holiday schedule. Town employees certainly deserve time off but I believe it should be more flexible and not impact town services. I would have considered proposals for more personal days.
Discontuing Services of Currrent Town Legal Firm- Passed 5-0. I would have voted in favor of this. The performance of the town’s legal representation has been less than satisfactory.
Appointment of Jonathan Blanton as Interim Town Attorney- Passed 5-0. I would have voted in favor. He’s more than qualified and the town can’t properly function without legal review of matters.