Sometimes it's just about showing up

We were disappointed to see that the town of Saratoga, the largest municipal investor of the South Central Emergency Management Services (SCWEMS), failed to send a representative to an important special meeting last week.

All of the other entities, except for Saratoga, were represented at the meeting.

Since SCWEMS membership is based on population, Saratoga pays more into SCWEMS than any another invested community in the county.

We approached Saratoga Mayor Ed Glode about Saratoga’s governing body’s lack of presence at the meeting. Glode said he had other obligations that night.

We understand that. We are all busy. We all have busy lives, but when someone runs for office to represent the town of Saratoga, that is exactly what we expect – representation.

If the mayor cannot make a meeting, he should assign a council member in his stead.

The SCWEMS meeting was critical to determine if Hanna would be allowed to become a member of SCWEMS Joint Powers Board – something that has been discussed at previous SCWEMS meetings and reported on by the Saratoga Sun for the last several months.

All of the entities were invited to share their input. We believe that Saratoga should have been there too.

Eight months into their terms, we are sure the council members and mayor are finding that there are a lot of meetings to attend. Although it is a time commitment, the significant changes taking place in town should be overseen and noted by councilpersons.

Our reporters make a solid effort to attend every meeting that involves the town of Saratoga – we expect the same from our elected officials.