Ever since my family settled in its first home in Talbot County on Pleasant Street in Oxford in 1976, I have always loved Oxford and its friendly folks. Its village feel was intoxicating.
I have always understood that small towns face the same infrastructure and zoning issues as larger jurisdictions, with smaller staff.
After watching Scott Rensberger’s superbly produced and well-researched opinion video shared on the Spy, I am disappointed in Oxford’s leadership. But I am hopeful.
I urge town leaders to wake up and smell the fragrance of transparency and communication. And as former Gov. and Baltimore Mayor William Donald Schaefer was wont to say, “Do It Now.”
It serves no useful purpose to wallow in self-imposed silence and self-pity. The town’s human environment will only get uglier.
At a regular town meeting, invite the 600-plus residents and disclose what is now considered non-disclosable. It will hurt a little. Then the air will clear. Follow the lead of other towns and cities.
Reveal the town manager’s salary. Avoid real or perceived conflict of interest. While I understand that concerned and capable town commissioners feel under siege, please escape your isolation and talk openly with town residents.
Scott Rensberger is not an enemy. The Spy is not out to disparage Oxford. Lack of communication is injurious to the town and its inherent goodness.
Though an overused term, transparency engenders trust and credibility. It improves the relationship between a government and its citizens.
Recriminations accomplish nothing. Defensiveness counters healthy communication. Hurt feelings can be healed with human dialogue and trust.
Pull down the ramparts and open an honorable discourse with residents. Ugliness needs to find another home. Trust underscores good government.
“Do It Now.” Waiting only worsens the sense of acrimony. Restoration of grace and comity is not only wholly possible but urgently imperative.
Columnist Howard Freedlander retired in 2011 as Deputy State Treasurer of the State of Maryland. Previously, he was the executive officer of the Maryland National Guard. He also served as community editor for Chesapeake Publishing, lastly at the Queen Anne’s Record-Observer. After 44 years in Easton, Howard and his wife, Liz, moved in November 2020 to Annapolis, where they live with Toby, a King Charles Cavalier Spaniel who has no regal bearing, just a mellow, enticing disposition.
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