A Resident Expresses His Opinion About Lisbon's Town Government!

My Opinion‏

 

For a number of years now I have read all of the e-mails

sent to me from the “Lisbon Reporter”. As more 

information was released to the public about the 

questionable activities going on in the town office, 

a picture of corruption began to form. When the people 

of our town voted to change the manner of

government from selectmen to council, we thought more of

the people in town would have a say in the everyday

operation of town business. That we would have more 

input into where and how our taxes were used, more input

in the municipal budgets,(school, public works and town,

etc.) As more e-mails came into my computer I began to

see a pattern in what the “council” was doing. 

Each year there was less and less input by the public 

being allowed at the council meetings. 

 

Whatever happened to “government of the people, by the

people,for the people?” The members of the council are

mostly outstanding members of our community, but I don’t

think any of them has had any schooling in the operation

of a town government. They may know how to run a business

,but governing a town is not business in a private

sense. I have wondered if any of them know what “Roberts

Rules” are? This is a book that spells out the proper and

legal way to run a public meeting. 

 

Now according to the latest mail, the council is 

attempting to censure the people of our town. That is 

totally against our “Constitutional right of free speech."

They are supposed to listen to the people of the town 

and try to follow our wishes as well as they can. How 

long are we going to sit around and ignore what is 

happening? We all complain about what the council

is doing, so when are we as a town going to put a stop 

to it?

 

I understand that taking a step back will be a hard 

thing to do, but we as citizens of Lisbon, Maine had 

more say in the running of our town when we had 

selectmen and town manager. I think we need to vote to 

dissolve the council and go back to what we had. 

Everything I have written here is my own opinion and 

nobody else’s. This is my right as an American. If you 

don’t agree with some of the statements here, that is 

your right. 

                                                                                                 

Donald G. Wile

Lisbon Falls, ME