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

Thursday, June 18, 2015

The Maine Wire: Posik: Are Secret Negotiations The New Business As Usual?‏

By
Jacob Posik

The Maine Legislature approved a $6.7 billion biennial budget Tuesday morning, just in time to pass Governor LePage’s ten day veto period and avoid government shutdown before the start of the next fiscal year on July 1.While this would seem like a job well done, these legislators deserve no pat on the back. A select few secretly controlled negotiations while their peers were left in the dark until voting occurred.

The manner in which this budget was created; behind closed doors in “chairs and leads” meetings held throughout the preceding weeks, then ultimately finalized in private discussions between House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick; Senate President Mike Thibodeau, R-Winterport; Senate Minority Leader Justin Alfond, D-Portland; and House Minority Leader Ken Fredette, R-Newport, flies in the face of Maine’s long held tradition of and commitment to transparency, and shouldn’t be tolerated by the people of Maine.

Read more here.