The Saturday, April 10 My Turn column [“Heath faces a long-term financial challenge,” by Jean and William Gran] about Heath is just the tip of the iceberg.

A business friend asked me last year if the small towns would or could survive Covid 19.

I optimistically said, ‘The next two to three years will be rough for us (Charlemont) but I see a thriving village in the near future. I am not normally described as a Pollyanna but my reasons were sound then.

With the two year Village Calming Project with new pavement, drainage and sidewalks we will have a much improved look. Yet spending on this type of infrastructure, long overdue, is not headline grabbing, sexy, or remotely exciting but needed nonetheless.

Additionally, we believe our Opportunity Zone Designation will create new businesses around our recreational activities. We detect a change in the legislature as to local taxes so we are anticipating the recreation tax. While it can not legally be designated as a revenue source for any activity, we will be able to look at all our emergency services with an eye to future feasibilities.

However, happenstance or design, it does not really matter to me; nor, do I wish to participate in the political tower of babble about government. The reality is that the small towns are being buried in new regulations and requirements without funding nor even an understanding of who will do the work. Just the amount of email coming over the electronic transom takes an inordinate amount of time. Every department head, every board, committee and commission is burdened with paperwork that goes 24/7. Employee hours have not increased with the work load. Also, what we ask of volunteer citizen officials is now over the top.

If I miss one day checking my email, I just want to cry when I open town email. Most days take several hours or more to read what I consider important emails. But there is a danger in skipping any state emails because they may contain deep within their multiple pages information Select need to know. It is time for a honest discussion on how much additional work has been created by technology. Also, does transparency mean getting buried in minutiae? It needs to be reined into appropriate parameters.

We have governmental entities not aware of what other agencies are demanding. Seriously, the fodder for comedians is huge. Is it housing or save the trees, for one example. How much land can be removed from a town’s tax base and still be sustainable?

We are becoming like the Western states that can and do have up to 92% of their land owned by the federal government. I have over 30 years recommended to various D and R state officials to hold an annual ‘Golden Fleece’ award based on the one done by Sen. William Proxmire, D-WI, 1957-1989.

We are not without fault ourselves in some of the decisions made locally. We have not funded our OPEB town requirements; meanwhile the legislature has a proposal to increase retirement time in for essential employees. Our Franklin County Retirement System is 74% funded while our regional schools are far from funded.

The over reliance on training and education started in the 1970s on the insurance industry and has now grown to be a major growth industry in Massachusetts. There are no differences in requirements for large cities vs. small towns. I have long argued against many of the OEMS EMT continuing education requirements on essentially paid volunteers.

One hour of annual training to do a prick test for diabetes seems silly when you seriously think about it. Take that and a lot of other over-the-top silliness and you see just one bureaucracy writing rules and regulations on a regular basis to justify their jobs.

This is not a call for stopping regulations; rather, an attempt to understand the burdens placed on small towns. I, for one, wonder who would even consider being a part-time police officer or a volunteer firefighter now with the additional amount of time demanded beyond performing the service.

Pay attention to your town’s budget this year to see how much new training and education is required. Oh, and don’t forget about new state inspection requirements that are costly.

In a real world, this math does not compute. As a long time public official in Massachusetts, here in Charlemont and Marshfield, I have witnessed much and offer my perspectives based on experience.

Marguerite Willis is a Charlemont resident, taxpayer and a Selectboard member.