9:20 pm. So the Select board heard a Town Manager Report on the Christmas tree tax fiasco. He started of by announcing that developer Barry Roberts and hotel magnate Curt Shumway, both local boys who made very good, will pay the town the entire tax (between $775 to $800) and we also know--although the Town Manager did not give them a plug--Amherst DPW workers already donated a check to the Scouts for roughly that amount.
Thus the new Spin is Amherst did the Boy Scouts a favor, because now they are getting all these extra donations from concerned citizens. Hmmm...
Kinda like saying getting mugged is fine if the culprit is caught and then loses a sizable civil court case for damages.
His Lordship Mr. Weiss decided not to act as The Inquisitor and coerce the local Boy Scout troop into branding their national chapter as discriminators simply to use town property.
More tomorrow. I'm tired.
Dunno Barry Roberts but I do know Curt. Curt is a nice guy and was a fine lacrosse player for the Hurricanes back in the day. It's great that they stepped up and paid the arbitrary and capricious Christmas tree sales tax, which is likely, an unlawful tax, for the Boy Scouts.
ReplyDeleteDid you wonder if these fine men (I mean that about Curt but I don't know Barry) may have bought some favorable and undue influence with town leaders by doing so, by making Shaffer and Weiss’ self-inflicted PR nightmare go away?
Do you wonder whether Curt and Barry approached Shaffer and Weiss or whether Shaffer and Weiss approached Curt and Barry? I do. How do you suppose that conversation went?
Now, everybody's supposed to walk away as the arbitrary and capricious sales tax is swept under the rug. And what did it cost Shaffer and Weiss… just a little favorable undue influence purchased for a pittance. Truth be told, I cannot affirm that is the case but I sure wish the guys managing the town and running the select board would think before they act. Now we have the appearance of undue influence just to save face for Shaffer and Weiss, a bad decision on top of a bad policy. When will they get it right?
Well I know both Barry and Curt and I'm sure they stepped up on the own accord. But you have a point. They, to quote the Town Manager on a previous idiotic issue, "saved our Bacon;" so someday perhaps on another LARGER issue the Town Manager could feel like he owes them something.
ReplyDeleteYeah, if I were the official PR advisor I would have suggested Shaffer "plead ignorance" about the longstanding relationship the Scouts have to Amherst. Apologize, forgive the tax entirely, and let them stay for another 65 years.