Citizens are right: Work out the issues

As community meetings went, Monday's town council meeting wasn't too bad.

Sure it lasted almost three hours. The hot part, though, was the first two hours in which citizens generally criticized Mayor George Wehrfritz for his handling of proposed changes in management of accounts of the Cathlamet Fire Department and its First Aid Division.

For the most part, discussion was fairly civil; only once did the crowd shout someone down.

"You're smearing our reputations," the crowd told the mayor. He should have handled the issues more diplomatically, they said, and he should treat the department members with respect.

Department members deserve respect. They train hard; they volunteer lots of precious personal time at all hours of the day; they endure trying times together, and they develop immense loyalty to their comrades and their department. Over the past 40 years, department leaders have turned the department into a professionally managed unit with highly trained personnel.

Wehrfritz will say he has treated them with respect. The issue is about accounting, not personnel. He feel his actions have been necessary for the good of the town and the department.

Nevertheless, the mayor's management memos came across as edicts and attacks on department personnel. They responded, and we've seen the level of confrontation escalate.

To make matters worse, word of the conflicts spread among the public and worked its way into the press, which was criticized for airing dirty laundry.

So, Monday's meeting allowed people to vent their frustrations and identify the issues separating the two sides.

As several citizens said, the mayor and department personnel should get together and resolve the issues as necessary.

"We're open to working this out," said Assistant Chief Fred Johnson after Wehrfritz outlined a compromise on new fueling procedures. "We don't want to be in opposing camps. That's not good for anybody."

To that, I say, "Amen," and I add that I hope that comment applies to the whole spectrum of issues separating the two camps.