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LISBON/LISBON FALLS, MAINE USA
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Showing posts with label Assessing Department. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Assessing Department. Show all posts
(Daily Caller) Hillary Clinton denied two things on Friday that are clearly true: that the FBI is investigating the existence of classified information on her private email server and that she and her aides were “sloppy” with said information.
The Democratic presidential candidate issued the latest denial during an interview with CNBC’s John Harwood on Friday, days after it was reported that Bryan Pagliano, the IT technician who managed her private server, had been granted immunity by the FBI.
Asked by Harwood if her supporters should be tempted to conclude that Pagliano’s immunity suggests that she could be prosecuted, Clinton laughed and said that they should not.
Three-time World Series-winner Curt Schilling wants to send Hillary Clinton to the Big House rather than the White House.
“If she’s allowed to get to the general election before she’s in prison,” the former pitcher told Kansas City’s 610 Sports, “I’ll be stunned and upset because I think she’s shown her true colors all along the way. And I’ll ask you this: Do you see her being anything even remotely different than what we’ve had?”
{Breitbart} Mark “OZ” Geist and John “TIG” Tiegen, two members of the security team that helped rescue dozens of Americans during the Benghazi terror attacks, have endorsed Donald Trump for president.
According to a statement released Sunday:
(Breitbart) On February 26, President Obama cited the Kansas shootings during a speech in Jacksonville, Florida, and pledged to keep pushing Congress to pass more gun control.
He did not mention that alleged Kansas gunman Cedric Ford was a felon who was completely barred from purchasing guns or possessing them. Ford faced 100 percent gun control.
(Free Beacon) The State Department turned over 1,600 pages of previously undisclosed documents related to Hillary Clinton and Libya to the House Benghazi committee on Friday, a month after it revealed the existence of the documents in an unrelated court case.
The House Select Committee on Benghazi announced it received the records on Friday, adding that the State Department has yet to fully comply with document requests the committee made nearly a year ago.
(CNS News) A 10-year-old girl was fatally struck by a runaway vehicle near Lakeside, California while pushing two children out of harms way.
Family members identified the girl as Kiera Larsen.
(CNS News) U.S. Senate, Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.) implied during an exchange with Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday that Iran was justified in detaining ten U.S. sailors who entered Iranian waters last month.
The incident came up during a Senate Appropriations subcommittee hearing on the administration’s State and foreign operations budget request, after Kerry argued that the nuclear deal and his relationship with his Iranian counterpart had been responsible for the quick resolution of what he said could have turned into a hostage situation.
(Via Bizpacreview) The phrase “all lives matter” is now a racial slur.
That’s the opinion Black Lives Matter co-founder Marissa Janae Johnson expressed on an “O’Reilly Factor” special Sunday on Fox News.
Oh. Snap!
The very liberal Professor Cornel West was a guest on CNN’s New Day on Monday morning when he dropped what may well be the best soundbite of the 2016 Democrat primary campaign… ever! “Hillary Clinton is the Milli Vanilli of American politics. She lip-syncs, she gives lip service. But when it comes to policy, who supported the crime bill? Who supported, not just the deregulating of banks, but also pulled the rug from under welfare?”
Ouch.
In an “open letter” obtained exclusively by Breitbart News, Admiral James “Ace” Lyons, U.S. Navy (Ret.), urges voting members of the NRA to give serious consideration to a recall effort based on board member Grover Norquist’s alleged past ties to Muslim Brotherhood operatives.
The recall effort follows Norquist’s April 2015 reelection to the NRA board amid heavy opposition from Glenn Beck and others. In mid-March Mediate.com reported that Beck threatened to quit the NRA if they did not end their relationship with Norquist. Beck made clear his concern was Norquist’s alleged ties ties to the Muslim Brotherhood.
By Jim Hoft, GOP frontrunner Donald Trump doesn’t miss a beat as the lights go out in the middle of his speech at a packed convention center in Atlanta.
The Trump supporters lined up three hours early to get inside the Georgia World Congress Center.
A far left protester cut the electricity at the Trump Rally on Sunday.
(Via Daily Mail) A young woman from Miami has been in a coma for a week after her family said she was attacked by her roommate, a 35-year-old man she met on Craigslist.
Byron Mitchell assaulted Danielle Jones, 23, just a week after he moved in with her in a downtown Miami apartment, Jones’s mother, Aimee Nikolove, said.
(Via Breitbart) Gun control proponent Gabby Giffords met with Oregon “law enforcement leaders” at the YWCA in Portland on Friday to contend that the universal background checks instituted last year and the closure of the “gun show loophole” in 2000 are not enough; more gun control for Oregon is needed now.
According to KGW, Giffords looked beyond background checks to gun storage requirements and expanded bans on gun ownership for people with certain mental health problems. Giffords said, “Stopping gun violence takes courage. The courage to do what’s right. The courage of new ideas. We must never stop fighting.”
The ticker symbol for United Technologies is displayed on a screen on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange July 20, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid(Via Daily Caller) Carrier Air Conditioning announced this week it’s shipping 1,400 jobs to Mexico, and the reaction of a room full of employees when they learned the news was caught on camera.
“The best way to stay competitive and protect the business for long-term is to move production from our facility in Indianapolis to Monterrey, Mexico,” a man speaking on behalf of the company says in the video to a large crowd of employees in a gymnasium-like room.
After receiving intelligence on Abaaoud’s whereabouts, police conducted a seven-hour-long raid on an apartment building in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis in France. This suburb is home to a large immigrant population. In total, the SWAT teams fired 5,000 rounds, resulting in two dead, The Wall Street Journal reports. Helicopters flew overhead. Drones and robots conducted surveillance. Sharpshooters were posted on buildings.
Abaaoud, 28, was one of the two terrorists killed in the firefight. He is suspected of coordinating the Paris attacks, which led to 129 deaths.
This is a summary of the Town
Council meeting of July 7th, 2015.I need to change the format of this recap due to an important message by
the Town Council that impacts every citizen.The following is what took place under Council, Resolutions &
Ordinances:
1.Itinerant Vendor Ordinance & Fee Schedule
(Second Reading) – This was approved by a vote of 4-1 with Councilor Garrison
voting NO.Councilors Lunt and Crafts
were excused from the meeting.
2.Lisbon Cemetery
Ordinance (Second Reading) – This was approved by a vote of 5-0.
3.Lisbon Cemetery
Committee Ordinance (Second Reading) – This was approved by a vote of 5-0.
4.RHR Engagement
letter for annual audit – This was approved with an amendment that the Town
Manager could sign this by a vote of 5-0.
5.Set date for
workshop for Mill Street Dam – This was tentatively set for July 16th
pending approval by DEP/Salmon/Water.
6.Lisbon Falls Fire
Company Road Toll – This was approved by a vote of 5-0.
Under Other Business – The
Town Manager announced that Officer Ryan McGee has been promoted to
Sergeant.The Finance Director is
looking into closing out four (4) bonds that are over ten (10) years old.
Mr. William Van Tuenin (Lisbon's former Assessor)
updated the Town Council on the progress of the Revaluation of the town that
was supposed to be completed (no later than) June 30, 2015.
According to Mr. Van Tuenin, the
residential side is about 90% completed and the commercial side is roughly 35%
completed.What this means to the residents of Lisbon
is that the Town Council voted to use last year’s figures in order to prepare
this year’s tax commitment.Mr. Van Tuenin made excuses for the
delay and Chairman Pesce did not accept them and asked for the adjusted
completion date that Mr. Van Tuenin could not provide. This is a true mess that was created in 2011
by Stephen Eldridge who brought Mr. Van Tuenin into the town as an Assessor and
then conned the Town Council at the time to approve the bid by Mr. Van Tuenin
over other bidders with a better offer.There is no telling when the revaluation will be completed or even how
accurate it will be under the circumstances.It is my understanding that Mr. Van Tuenin and his company will not
receive any more money from the town.
The Maine Constitution states that “All
taxes upon real and personal estate, assessed by authority of this
State, shall be apportioned and assessed equally according to the just
value thereof.”According
to brochure handed out at the Revaluation Workshop by the Maine Revenue
Services, the firm (doing the revaluation) will review local sales that
are considered “arm’s length” transactions and create pricing schedules
for land and buildings. As a result, all
properties will have an assessed value for tax purposes, typically
based on current cost of construction and local market sales.
All of this is pretty straight forward and should render an apportioned and assessed equally value
of each individual’s real and personal estate. However, one would
think that real and personal estates that are foreclosed on would have
to be included in the formula to ensure all property values are equal and just. Foreclosed property definitely has an impact on the fair market value of the same property in the same area.So why is foreclosed property not included in creating pricing schedules?
The same is true for property listed as “Slum and Blight”. It
is impossible to say that equal property; one in a “Slum and Blight”
area has the same fair market value of property not in a “Slum and
Blight” area.
According to the State, “All properties will have an assessed value for
tax purposes, typically based on current cost of construction and local
market sales.” Two
buildings constructed the same but in to different areas of town cannot
have the same local market sales value if one is in an area designated
as “Slum and Blight”.
Can someone explain why foreclosures and “Slum and Blight” properties are NOT included in the formula for determining our real estate taxes?According to the Maine Revenue Service, our taxes are supposed to be determined by apportioned and assessed equally according to the just value.
Without including all factors in the formula, how can our taxes be equal and just?
As
budget season rolls around again this year Lisbon Councilors have a
life altering decision they must make. They must decide how many more of
Lisbon's less fortunate they are willing to kick to the curb in order
to continue financing our 31 plus member Police force. (click for PD employee list)
Many may feel that my last statement was overly dramatic but I assure
you those people that lost their homes to foreclosure don't think it is
sensational. Their lives have been turned upside down. and for what, so
Lisbon can boast a large Police force. (click for latest foreclosure list) Whether we want to
believe it or not there is a direct relationship between the money our
Councilors allocate to Lisbon PD and the number of foreclosures in
Lisbon.All of those Police toys come with a price tag
attached and that price is the homes of our elderly, single mothers and
economically less fortunate.
When new tax bills come out this August we will feel the full effect of
last June's "School Bond"` vote. I have heard, from some of those in the
know, that we are looking at at least a $1 mil rate increase before we
even start this years budget. We can't afford the taxes we have let alone more increases. Lisbon is in financial crisis. It is time for our Councilors to
look at eliminating the Lisbon Police and hiring a few Deputy Sheriffs
to give out the occasional summons every other day. We are in such bad
shape that we could cut $1,000,000 dollars from this coming budget and
still have one of the highest taxes in Androscoggin County. Don't take my word for it , do the math. Some Councilors argue that in a past "online" survey
Lisbon Residents wanted to keep the PD and cut other Departments. This
quoted survey was not a "controlled study". Do you think any Police
Officers took that survey more than once to keep their jobs? If
the Councilors want to govern by survey how about giving us the
Department by Department vote overwhelmingly requested by another
survey.
Our Council has made many improvements over the past year or so, but
more changes are still needed. Our Councilors need to be made aware of
the full impact their decisions have on Lisbon's taxpayers on the edge. We don't want to become the Foreclosure capitol of Androscoggin County. Call your Councilors and let them know what you think.
It is truly amazing what information the town provides to the people in the 2012-2013 Annual Report. I fully understand that it is too late to do anything about the information provided and there is no way to change it. However, it goes to show just how free they are with our tax dollars and the lengths they go to cover it up until it is too late to stop this excessive spending. Below, I have listed the salaries of our Department Heads so we can see if we are getting our monies worth.DEPARTMENT HEADS SALARIES Assessor – No salary listed Code Enforcement Officer - $49,521.23 Economic Director - $25,283.82 Moxie Aide -$3,000.00 $26,486.50 Finance Director - $64,590.55 Fire Department - $64,315.76 Library Director - $47,771.22 Parks - $43,467.44 Police Department - $72,159.70 PW Operations Manager - $69,058.85 Recreation Director - $49,545.44 Sewer Operational Manager - $66,586.14 Town Clerk - $53,868.68 Town Engineer - $78,298.33 Town Manager - $91,266.36 Water Department - $61,383.76
Lisbon 'Contracted' Town Assessor William Van Tuenin
The first one that comes to mind for me is that Mr. William Van Tuenin is not listed anywhere in the salaries section. Why is that? We all know that he has been doing a reevaluation of the town for the past four years as well as being the Town Assessor. You and I both know he is not doing this for free; so what is his salary?
Lisbon Fire Chief Sean Galipeau
Next, let’s look at the Fire Chief. In 2002, Chief Galipeau was hired with several conditions. One of these conditions was that he “Continue progress towards an Associate’s Degree”. It is now, 2014 and Chief Galipeau has not completed his Associate’s Degree. Are you kidding me, 12 years and he does not have his Associate’s Degree. Doesn’t this constitute a breach of contract?
Lisbon Engineer E. Ryan Leighton
When Stephen Eldridge was Town Manager, he added Public Works, Sewer and Solid Waste to the duties of the Town Engineer. The Operational Managers of both Public Works and the Sewer Department continued to be paid at the rate they were being paid. This consolidation was to save the taxpayers some money, however, the only thing it did was added 8% to Ryan Leighton’s pocket.
So let’s take a look at Mr. Ryan Leighton, our Town Engineer. First, and most important is that Mr. Leighton is not recognized as a License Professional Engineer by the state. What does this mean to Lisbon; well every project over $100,000.00 the town has to pay a real engineer to come in and supervise the project. This means we are paying for two (2) engineers at the same time.
Next, he is listed as the Superintendent of Sewers but he is not qualified to operate the Treatment Plant. He is a Grade Level 2 and the Treatment Plant requires a Grade Level 4. So what does this mean? Ryan Leighton cannot sign required documents by the Department of Environmental Protection Agency. These documents are signed by the Operational Manager.
Our Town Engineer is not qualified as a License Professional Engineer and not qualified to operate the Treatment Plant and he receives a salary of $78,298.33 with absolutely no credentials.How much do you make and what credentials are required for your job?
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and robots
conducted surveillance. Sharpshooters were posted on buildings.
