A few years ago I was agitating for change in how the town made technology decisions, but I didn’t have a plan. I knew things were wrong, but didn’t know how to fix them. Annie LaCourt shared many of my views, and she had the plan that I didn’t. With her leadership we got the Board of Selectmen and Town Meeting to create the Information Technology Advisory Committee (ITAC).

Progress with ITAC hasn’t been as fast as I would like, but it there is progress. ITAC is the place where I feel like I make the most difference for Arlington. It’s an environment where my personality and experience are most effective. Its a lever. The things I do there have the broadest (and most beneficial) effects. It’s not an instantaneous change but it is good progress.

It turns out that state law (the Town Manager Act) says that I can’t sit on ITAC and FinComm at the same time. I value my work with FinComm too, though progress there is slower. I can stay effective with ITAC without having a vote. It would be harder to remain effective at FinComm without a vote. I resigned from ITAC.

It won’t change what I do. I continue to believe that ITAC can and will change Arlington’s process and budget, and I’ll work towards that goal. I’ll just do my thing without voting.

Dear Board Members:

It was recently brought to my attention that as an appointee to the Finance Committee, the Town Manager Act forbids me to accept any other committee appointments. I was unaware of this requirement and I apologize for any difficulty that may arise from this belated resignation.

Effective immediately, I resign from the Information Technology Advisory Committee and the Power Company Feasibility Committee.

I intend to remain active with ITAC. I’ve discussed the question with Deputy Manager Nancy Galkowski, and she agrees that I can continue to help the committee’s work without actually being a member. My role will change, but my activity will not.

The power committee is less active, but I am happy to volunteer if it becomes more active in the future.

Thank you for the opportunity to serve on these committees. I look forward to helping them in their future efforts.

Sincerely,

Dan Dunn