Weaving the Web of Deceit - Significantly, Precedential, and Tangentially‏

Beginning in May 2014, a concerned citizen who keeps us informed through the new media of a Web Site called Lisbon Reporter, attended a scheduled town meeting in which a Memorandum was read by the Town Manager Olmstead, requesting public funding for the Unitil and BHA project, without any supporting documentation on the 5 "W's".

Under the Maine FOA law, requests were initiated involving requests for the 5 W's, resulting in an administrative ruling of costs that are prohibitive to those of us on fixed incomes.

Appears that is the intent of the imposition of these high costs, to squash and control the public's access to governmental activities involving the Public Purse and obligations to private companies operations.  These penalties are not in keeping with the spirit and the intent of our Representative Republic, of the public being informed with accurate and COMPLETE information.

The nub of the problem is the Town Council's advisors.  The legal advisor and his cabal, are of the opinion that these requests are extra burdensome for the municipal employees, and are silent on the taxpayer exposures to these seat of the pants proposals written on Memorandum, without any supporting attachments to support the request.

The town's legal advisor and cabal from MMA and other unnamed sourced areas of policy making regarding local government FOA requests,  may be unaware of the new media sources available and now being used by members of the public and town council member's themselves.

According to the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition and the Maine Press Association's By Laws there are 5 members of the official press community.  These are regular, associate, affiliate, individual, and student members.  Further they are categorized as freelance writers, editors, authors, columnists, photographers and yes the dreaded BLOGGERs, (the list continues.....)

So in order to not to impair my choice of filing a violation of ethics of a member of the Maine State Bar association, who willing and knowingly consorted with other fellow attorneys to render opinions that our Founding Fathers found so obnoxious that they rebelled against the crown, it is for clarity that I submit the above so that the one venue of obtaining my news is not impinged by an attorney who clings to the past, and refuses to step into the future to protect the citizens and their government from onerous decisions prejudicial to the general welfare.

In Liberty

Debbie A. Barry

Lisbon Falls Maine