The Lisbon Reporter

WELCOME TO THE LISBON REPORTER. In an effort to keep our community informed of what is going on at local and Federal levels of government, we decided to create this on-line newspaper. It is our hope that this on-line newspaper will help you stay informed so that you can get involved and take action for the benefit of our ENTIRE community. Thank you for visiting and please check back frequently for information about what is happening in LISBON/LISBON FALLS, MAINE USA

Sunday, February 23, 2014

Interim Town Manager Dale Olmstead Is A Change For The Positive In Lisbon

EXCELLENT RECOMMENDATIONS

Mr. Dale Olmstead

At last Tuesday’s night Town Council meeting, Mr. Dale Olmstead, our Interim Town Manager, provided the council with a very enlightening presentation into the town’s financial situation. This briefing not only outlined the town’s shortfalls but also came with solid recommendations as to how to recover from this bleak financial turmoil that Lisbon is in at this time.

Mr. Olmstead provided several Revenue Opportunities the town could take to help our community get back to a strong financial backbone. Mr. Olmstead experienced the same situation when he took over as the Town Manager in Freeport. His professionalism and hard work turned Freeport around and made it the success story it is today. Below is a short listing of the recommendations Mr. Olmstead detailed in his briefing.

Mr. Olmstead is a proven professional with 30 years of experience as a very successful Town Manager. The Town Council selected Mr. Olmstead because of this experience and should trust him to move forward on these recommendations. Lisbon cannot afford to delay any longer or wait until the Council hires a new Town Manager. The town is facing a tough budget process that needs immediate attention and delaying any longer will force yet another tax increase this year. In order to reduce the amount of this increase, Mr. Olmstead should be empowered to make as many changes as possible as quickly as he can.

One of the additional recommendations Mr. Olmstead made was to turn the Dispatch Center (Communication Center) over to the County. This is an excellent suggestion and will save the town approximately $500,000.00 tax dollars.

I have an additional recommendation for the Council to consider and that is to ONLY purchase what is absolutely necessary. There should be no fluff this year. The town needs this time to recover financially and to allow Mr. Olmstead’s recommendations to take effect.

If you want to review Mr. Olmstead’s presentation, go to the Great Falls video for February 18th and fast forward to 120:47.

Larry Fillmore