Wiscasset voters elected the school committee and selectmen. Property owners and fee-payers fund the school and town services out of their paychecks, savings and any other means they can. Two pockets get the money, but it’s all for Wiscasset and is on Wiscasset taxpayers’ hard-earned dime.

Work together. Meet jointly monthly. Iron out the energy project and the school funds issues at the table, eye level to one another, not meeting separately discussing the other one, or from the audience, but two panels and the superintendent of schools and the town manager and as needed the auditors and lawyers in one room, in open session. Picture that. It might not take as long to work through the items as you think.

Just talk, get it done, however many joint meetings or workshops it takes. It has taken longer than it should have.

Then, when those longtime issues are settled, keep holding a joint monthly meeting. Help avoid or diffuse potentially dicey issues by making sure everyone has the information and agrees on what that information means, or the panels realize early on it’s one for the lawyers. Probably, though, you won’t need the lawyers as much, with this proactive approach.

You’re all Wiscasset. Disagreeing is good in politics; frustration and protraction are not.