Responsibilities and Expectations.

What should we expect from our leaders? What are their responsibilities? Can we expect them to do more than what they are responsible for?

Town Council could be a full time job, but without the full time pay. All our members, with the exception of Morley, have a full time job. They also have families, hobbies, etc. In short, they have a life besides Town Business. I understand they are each paid three hundred bucks a month, but can we call that a salary? Should we expect more than what they are paid for? Our leaders are practically volunteers; we have to be careful not to expect more from them than we do from other volunteers.

I realized the different attitudes towards the leaders while I was campaigning. Some view them as superior to the rest; which is probably why there is so much disappointment when they mess up. And others are at the other end of the spectrum: they think the elected leaders owe them something; perhaps they see it as the price for their vote. These people seem to have this attitude that the elected leaders are their personal servants, and they make life hell for the leader that does not do things their way. Leaders have to do what they think is best for the whole, not for the one! What they think may not be what you think, and what is best for the whole might not be what is best for the one. To think of the whole community and not just a small group is definitely one of their responsibilities.

Unrealistic expectations will cause disappointment within the community. And on the other hand they must be accountable for fulfilling the responsibilities of the position. We need to make ourselves aware of what their responsibilities are, and what they are not. We need to keep them accountable to what their position is, but we can't expect them to do it all. Their job is the leadership job; all the other jobs belong to the rest of us.

If you see slack, determine if it`s really their responsibility or not. If it`s not, then maybe it`s your responsibility! Remember, it`s going to take all of us to rebuild this town, and yes that includes YOU.