What The Town Needs To Do Now‏

It was encouraging last night to see another packed meeting, although 
I did not attend last Friday's sudden emergency meeting, I still hear it 
was still much bigger. So numbers dwindled. Councilor Cote made a good 
point about this sort of issue when he pointed out participation is 
generally low and people only show up when there is a slip, and it is 
generally too late to turn back. This was essentially what School 
Committee Chairwoman Prudence Grant had told a packed meeting, mostly of 
angry students, last Spring when major personnel cuts were made in our 
school system, mainly to the high school. So are we seeing a trend here? 
Sure we are. And it's time for all of us to step up. If we show up for 
one or two meetings a year, then we give Eldridge and whoever else is 
involved with this disaster, consent through our silence. It's not 
difficult to shrug off citizens once a year if it means keeping 
corruption alive. Has anyone asked what could happen for our town if we 
would keep the heat on?
 
I remember being uplifted when I heard a parent speak at last Spring's 
School Committee meeting on the cuts, when she said that we can't stand 
down and we can't stop now. If we're upset, we need to keep at it. 
Attend the meetings, contact our representative to the Legislature. I 
approached her on my way out that evening and thanked her for making 
that point, but issued my one concern. My concern was that this would 
burnout. Students wouldn't remain interested, parents won't return, and 
the School Committee is left to do what it pleases with little 
resistance. Proof of this? Another thing I gathered from these meetings 
is the School Committee's push to remove early graduation, the ability 
of students to graduate early if they have earned all of their credits 
before the conclusion of their senior year. This is something that 
Lisbon High School's principal Ken Healy resisted. But who else was 
there to stand up with him? Surely many students would be upset by this, 
those who I have spoken with and those these people have spread it to, 
severely disliked the idea. But they didn't attend the meetings and 
still haven't. What good is idle discontent doing us?
 
My point is this: We can complain about government. It is no secret that 
the Federal Government is drowning present and future generations in 
more debt that most people can stomach, as we put history to shame with 
our recklessness. The State Government is a tax-happy machine that 
carelessly spends on many failing programs. And now our Town Government 
is driving up taxes because of their screw up by their guy, instead of 
cutting corners and certain overpaid individuals taking a pay cut to 
help soften the blow (especially one who doesn't pay our taxes here in 
town because he doesn't live here). But what are we doing about it? Will 
any of you who were there last night or Friday night be there in two 
weeks at the next Town Council meeting? Or the one after that?
 
Whether or not our Town Council is capable of standing up for its 
citizens and investigating Steve Eldridge and this mess we have now 
thoroughly enough, remains to be seen. But I for one, would assume not 
wait. Lisbon is and has been in a financial crisis going unnoticed for 
some time now. I saw it last Spring with the school, I see it now. And 
it's not just Lisbon's fault. As it was pointed out last night, a lot of 
it goes back to Augusta. And it goes back to a point myself and a few 
others have made, that we must not stop now.
 
Augusta keeps cutting money, Augusta pays far below the amount of each 
school budget as required by law, yet they keep driving up taxes. Why? 
Where is all of this money going? I have had people tell me the money 
isn't there. The money is there. Augusta is just corrupt, just as I fear 
Lisbon is becoming. It's time to take back our State. It's time to take 
back our town.
 
So what do we need to do now? Keep up the pressure. Swing by the Town 
Hall, pick up a Town Report and look at just how much we are really 
spending. It will make you uneasy. But it will make you think. Think 
about ways we can combine and consolidate to increase efficiency and 
save money. You are all right, we are being overtaxed and this isn't 
just. But the Town Council and Steve Eldridge aren't going to make cuts 
that they don't have to make. It's our job to keep the heat on. It's our 
job to come together as a town and see what we can do, what we can push 
them to do. After all, we did elect these councilors and those 
councilors gave us Eldridge. They work for us. Or at least they're 
supposed to. It's about time we make that happen.
 
Another very concerned citizen,
Chris Dixon