A Lisbon Citizen Writes In

I recently stumbled on the Lisbon Reporter and I'm already a big fan. It's quite refreshing to read the honest happenings of this town. 

My husband and I were both raised in Lisbon Falls and now we are raising our 3 young children here as well. There are so many things I truly love about Lisbon and it's those things that have kept me here. However, there are other attributes of Lisbon that I'm not so fond of and I see that many of the posts on this site mirror my own thoughts. 

My oldest child is a 7-year-old boy and he attends Lisbon Community School. Naturally, this fact has given me a renewed interest in the Lisbon School Department. As we all know, recently there was a vote pertaining to the school's budget. It was a topic that I had mixed emotions about. On one hand, I think the schools should have the money they need to provide the next generation of Lisbon citizens with the best possible education. On the other hand, my husband and I are in the process of finding our first home and we've learned how expensive Lisbon taxes already are and I certainly don't want to vote in favor of anything that will increase our already heavy tax burden. 

But I don't feel as though those two routes should be my only options. Why should I have to choose between voting for the schools to have the money they need or vote to keep the taxes from increasing? With the high tax rate we already endure, there is surely enough money for the schools to get what they need.. or at least there should be. 

This lead me to the question, where are our tax dollars going? The answer wasn't hard to find. It's quite obvious that the Lisbon PD is the biggest financial drain of our tax dollars. For years, Lisbon's excessive police force has been a joke. People say that we have one cop per family. They say not to drive down 196 through Lisbon unless you want to get pulled over. So on and so forth, everyone seems to agree that Lisbon has an overabundance of police officers. 

In a town this size, with a meager crime rate, there is no need for a force like ours. By cutting the PD budget, we could easily afford to give our schools the money they need and fund the things that really matter. What would we lose? The opportunity to fine every poor soul going 30 mph in 25 mph zone? 

Our schools and other departments are constantly asked to prove themselves and beg for every penny they get. In order to get what they deserve, there is tons of paperwork, meetings, and voting that must take place. And then once all the stars align, they may or may not receive their fair share of the tax dollars. What's ironic is that I never see or hear of any of this happening in regards to the police department. The citizens are never asked or given the opportunity to vote on whether or not we want to hire new officers, purchase new vehicles etc. My guess is it's because Chief Brooks already knows how that would turn out. 

My parents both live in Lisbon as well and my father recently compared Chief Brooks to Boss Hog in the Dukes of Hazzard. He said that Brooks is crooked, manipulative and an overgrown bully. In his opinion, the counsel is intimidated by Brooks and his tactics, which is why we are never given the opportunity to vote for PD-related topics and why everything Brooks wants, Brooks gets. 

It's time for the PD to be put in their place and for the money that is frivolously thrown about by Brooks to be fairly distributed to the school and other departments. 

I'm very close to some of the leaders in Lisbon, but clearly they aren't as concerned with our children as they are with placating Brooks. I want to be involved in the solution in whatever way possible. 

Thank you for continuing to share the truth to Lisbon's residents.

Submitted by: ' Anonymous'