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, January 6, 2019

WHY LISBON’S TAXES CONTINUE TO RISE!

Have you ever wondered why our taxes continue to go up every year? Does anyone really care? The answer to these two questions is explained below.

There are several reasons why our taxes go up every year. The first reason is mismanagement of our tax dollars. In March 1, 2016, the town entered into a seven (7) years contract for a software package called MUNIS to replace the old one called TRIO. I totally agree with this decision but would have never entered into a seven (7) year contract without first having the software installed so I could evaluate if it was going to do the job I wanted it to do. This was a total blunder by the Town Council but they are not totally a fault. The Town Manager, I am told, recommended this action to the Town Council. Once again, this is poor advice by the Town Manager.

MUNIS cost the taxpayers $79,761.00 per year for fifteen (15) modules for seven (7) years. As of today, I am told that only a portion of one (1) module has been installed. At that rate, at the end of the contract MUNIS will NOT BE fully operational. On March 1, 2019, the contract will have been in place for three years. This means taxpayers will have paid $239,283.00 and the software package is not even installed, so we are paying for nothing. This is not only disgraceful but borders on fraud, waste and abuse of our tax dollars.

A few months ago, the Town Council spent $4,400.00 for an evaluation to determine the cost to fully install MUNIS and its fifteen (15) modules. The assessment came back and it would cost the town approximately $186,000.00 to have professionals come in and install the software package. This is a great deal of money but the town has spent, as of March 1, 2019, a total of $239,283.00 and the taxpayers have nothing to show for it. This is a crying shame because there are at least three residents available that have been through a transition from one software package to another and neither the Town Council nor the Town Manager called on their expertise. These subject matter experts (SME) are former Councilor Greg Garrison, Jeffery Costanzo and I. I am sure that there are a few more but I do not know them.

When the management of our town continues to waste thousands and thousands of our tax dollars every year, it is no wonder our taxes continue to rise. Whenever the citizens of Lisbon decide enough is enough, they need to contact the Town Council and demand a stop to wasting our tax dollars. I recommend as a subject matter expert that the Town Council stop wasting our tax dollars and pay the $168,000.00 to have professionals convert the town from TRIO to MUNIS so the town can move on. From my limited experience with TRIO, it is a lousy software package that allows management to hide money.

The Town Council needs to recognize the mistakes of the past and move the town forward. This issue is supposed to be discussed on January 15, 2019 at the workshop.

Larry Fillmore