Milltown webmaster was dedicated volunteer

It seems the Milltown Council has decided to "give the boot" to a man who gave a considerable amount of time and effort serving as the webmaster of the town Web site. To add insult to injury, at a time when we are being told there is no money and the next school budget move might involve cutting a teacher, they have decided to pay a new webmaster.

As I understand it, this all started over the debate about whether or not to keep the town Web site's opinion page. Members of the council mentioned that were anything libelous to appear on the Web site, the town would be vulnerable to lawsuits. Can't that be remedied by using a disclaimer similar to those used by radio, television and newspapers? I often read or hear language that states "The opinions expressed here are those of the writer and do not reflect the opinions, intentions, or policies of ... ."

I don't know enough about this - specifically whether or not it would be enough to insulate us from lawsuits - but it would have been a good idea to explore this and other possibilities rather than swiftly terminating a relationship with a dedicated volunteer, censoring the town Web site and adding to our tax bills.

Rudolph Peter

Milltown