Veto’s message sets tone for Town Hall

Berlin Town Council members this week not only delivered the most complete defeat of Mayor Zack Tyndall’s short political career so far, but they also set the tone for how municipal affairs are going to be handled from now on.

By voting unanimously to override Tyndall’s budget veto, the council sent a message that says it’s going to be an active participant in determining the course of local government.

Obviously, this council is populated by some independent thinkers, who aren’t going to be relegated to a subservient role by this or any other mayor.

Only time will tell whether their reconfiguration of the mayor’s original budget is the better of the two fiscal plans, but they have served notice that they can act boldly as long as they work together.

That said, council members also are letting Tyndall know that he needs to work with them as full partners of the governmental process to avoid future showdowns.

Of course, that same rationale applies to the council, which probably would agree that working with the mayor for the benefit of all citizens would be far more preferable than working without him or against him, and then having to round up the votes to make it stick.

It’s highly unlikely, and maybe even impossible, that council members will agree on every major issue that comes before them, and for that reason the mayor’s involvement will be critical to the decision-making process.

As it stands now, however, council members and the mayor know that the power to direct local government smoothly and efficiently resides within them all.

Drawing each other a little closer to the campfire in future discussions of major issues will allow for a better exchange of ideas while helping elected officials get more of what they want without having to go to the mat over it.

If there’s one thing that residents can feel good about in all this, however, it is that they have a deeply engaged and vigorous bunch in Town Hall, and no matter what the topic might be, it’s going to get everyone’s full attention.