How Long will It Take to Answer a Simple Question in Watertown?
By Hans Wilder | The Watertown Post
This morning, Watertown resident Michael LaDue sent a polite, reasonable, and tax-paying citizen’s email to City Councilman Robert Kimball — with a CC to other council members — asking a very basic question:
How much has the ongoing ethics investigation cost the taxpayers so far?
Seems like a fair ask, right? Especially after a 9% tax hike this year and talk of a potential 25% increase next year. People want to know where their money’s going — particularly when it’s being spent on legal fees for ethics complaints involving elected officials. You know, the ones we hired (and pay) to serve the public.
LaDue’s email, timestamped at 8:35 a.m. on July 29, lays out the issue clearly:
- He references a local news report that the City’s outside legal firm sent a letter to the State Attorney General.
- He requests a breakdown of all costs billed by Harris Beach (the City’s hired legal counsel) associated with the ethics investigation.
- He asks specifically for the cost of preparing the complaint and the cost of the letter sent to the AG’s office.
- And he signs off respectfully, with full contact information, ready for a reply.
Now the question is — how long will it take to get one?
Let’s Be Honest…
In a normal city, you’d expect a response within a couple days. Maybe even a “we’re working on it” by the end of business. But this is Watertown, where:
- The front door to City Hall is locked,
- The code office door slams like a courtroom drama, and
- Leadership routinely drives out of the city each night to their out-of-town homes, far away from the very problems their neighbors are begging them to solve.
The letter from Mr. LaDue isn’t a partisan rant. It’s not a tirade. It’s a well-framed, tax-conscious request from someone who actually pays attention to what’s going on — and just wants transparency. Imagine that.
What Will Happen Now?
Here’s how it usually plays out in Watertown:
- The email gets “read” but not answered.
- A committee is formed to discuss responding to the email.
- A consultant is hired to determine the tone of the reply.
- The city attorney charges another $900 to redact two lines of billing info.
- The reply gets lost in someone’s drafts folder until it’s 2026.
And if a reply does come? It might contain more redactions than a CIA file on UFOs.
But Here’s the Thing:
When citizens like Michael LaDue speak up, it matters. It puts the pressure on. It reminds the folks in office that we’re not asleep. That we’re watching. That we’re done being politely billed into silence.
Every dollar spent on secretive legal maneuvering is a dollar not spent mowing overgrown lawns, fixing broken sidewalks, or making sure your kid isn’t walking past rats on the way to school.
So to the city council:
Tick-tock.
The taxpayers are waiting.
📬 We’ll update this article the moment Mr. LaDue gets a response — if he ever does.
📣 Have your own unanswered question for City Hall? Send it to us. We’ll make sure it doesn’t disappear.
The Watertown Post – Because somebody has to ask the obvious.
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