Recap of Oh Hum Lisbon Town Council Meeting 08072012

RECAP TOWN COUNCIL MEETING – AUGUST 7TH

At last night’s town council meeting it was business as usual.  There was little to no excitement during the actual meeting but at the workshop it was a sham.  I will devote an entire article to the highlights of the workshop.

Our local citizens serving abroad to protect our rights.

Will we have the balls enough to protect theirs when they come home?

The Town council approved a bid for the Library Air Conditions to be installed in the library in the amount of $12,565.00.  They had budgeted $20,000.00 for this project.  I wonder where the extra $7,035.00 will be going.

The council also approved a bid for the Wood Trailer Replacement for $48,000.  They had budgeted $50,000 so where is the extra $2,000 going.

Mr. Richard Gross from the Androscoggin County Charter Commission provided an excellent presentation on the proposed Androscoggin County Charter which will be voted on in November.  If you would like to review the proposed charters go to 

http://www.androscoggincountyme.com/Charter/Charter.htm

Richard Gross                     

(all photos provided willing by Coucilor Cote)

 
Some of the interesting points are:

The make-up of the new Commission will be increased from three Commissioners to seven.  The first election will be in 2014.

Establishes term limits for Commissions and Budget Committee members.

An excellent Recall procedure which I felt should be adopted throughout the county.  It is simple and to the point.  The number of signatures required is 10% of the number of votes cast for the office in the last election and the decision is determined by majority vote and not by some unobtainable goal like 30% of the total number of qualified voters who cast votes for Governor in the most recent gubernatorial election like Lisbon.

You mean like the one for Nasty Norma???Where David T. Brooks circled the voting place like a shark looking for a fresh kill.....

The council also discussed which roads to repair first; this discussion ending with the council asking the town engineer to provide additional information prior to making a decision.

The council approved the nominations of Curtis Lunt and Karen Paradis as Associate Member of the Planning Board.

Stay tuned for the recap of the workshop.

Larry Fillmore
Concerned Citizen

FAMILY CIRCUS OR DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY ? ? ? ? ?

The only reason Steve Eldridge was hired as Town of Lisbon Town Manager was because Chief of Police David Brooks knew he could lead him around like a trained dog.

Eldridge was kicked out as Rumford's town manager. He ran Rumford into the ground, needed a job, and brought along his lady friend giving her a job.

                                IT WAS PERFECT ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 

The Town of Lisbon was a fairly thriving community.

Situated between two picturesque sites, the Androscoggin and Sabattus Rivers, on heavily traveled Route 196, midway to Lewiston/Auburn to the west and Topsham/Brunswick to the east.

 

New businesses were springing up; The Dingley Press, Floor Systems, The Furniture Superstore, Quality Car Care, all bringing jobs to Lisbon.

New Lisbon Credit Union and Post Office buildings on Route 196, all nicely landscaped, were nice additions.

 

Main Street Lisbon Falls was fairly bustling with activity.

 

Village Street in Lisbon Village, while needing a good

face-lift, the businesses, including Graziano's, were doing pretty good. There were no empty store-fronts.

 

Speed forward to 2012.

 

Two Down Town Revitalization's later:

Main Street Lisbon Falls is looking more and more run-down.

Business is declining.

Village Street Lisbon Village is looking more and more like a Mid-Western ghost town.

The former Worumbo Mill, some buildings burned down in 1987, not like Phoenix, has not risen from the ashes.

 

The former Masonite Fiberboard buildings on Route 196, on the banks of the Mighty Androscoggin River, and Lisbon's Gateway from the East, is or has been stripped of all personal property and the buildings are about to be demolished.

 

Our streets are in deplorable condition.

 

And what are our Town Fathers doing about it????? 

What is the Town Council doing about it??????? 

 

Ignoring the obvious ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! 

 

 Eldridge hired someone not qualified, as Community Development Director  with a nice pay raise.

Every business started with town seed money and  TIF's have gone under, leaving taxpayers holding the proverbial bag.

 

When that person left for another job, he hired  another incompetent as a replacement.

 

 He  hired a friend, writing the bid in such a way that

no other firm could bid, to revalue the town at an inflated price.

 

We have a Town council that does not dare to vote before looking to Eldridge or Mike Bowie as to how they should vote.

 

We have a Planning Board, aka Larry, Curly and Moe and The Three Stooges, with the Codes Enforcement Officer as the fall guy. Trying to change the Comprehensive Plan to do illegal spot zoning.

 

They know not what they are doing, but are only doing Eldridge's bidding.

 

Codes Enforcement Officer does not dare to cite illegal businesses, or illegal junkyards for fear of losing his job.

He does not dare to burp or fart unless  Eldridge approves it first.

 

Many town department heads are overpaid and have bloated budgets.

(Apologies to the ones who do care and do not inflate their budgets).

 

The Town of Lisbon is falling into decay under Town Manager Eldridge and his puppets.

Real estate taxes have gone through the roof and are going even higher.

 

Why should Eldridge, Town Engineer Ryan Leighton and Fire Chief Sean Galipeau care? They approve improvements to town buildings that do not need improvements while ignoring buildings that do need to be improved, at inflated costs.

 

They do not live In Lisbon. They do not pay real estate taxes to Lisbon. Galipeau and Leighton do not even have to own a vehicle, pay excise tax and vehicle insurance. They have free use of  town owned vehicles 24/7.

All expenses paid  by Lisbon taxpayers ! ! ! ! ! ! !

 

Do you want  Lisbon  to continue to stagnate???  

Or do you want a vibrant and healthy business community? 

 

To accomplish that we need new leadership ! ! ! ! !

It cannot happen without you ! ! ! ! ! ! ! the voters ! ! ! !

 

Embarrassed

 

A Lisbon Concerned Citizen

WAKE UP CALL

When are the town of Lisbon residents and taxpayers going to wake up?

 

Do you know what is going on right under your collective noses? 

 

1.   We are losing real estate tax income. 

 

2.   We are losing personal property income.

 

3.   We are paying $56,000 for a Community Development Director who has not brought any development into town, yet. And like his predecessor did anything either, she, Rosie Bradley, only managed to delete files in the Economic Development office All without the Town Councils Approval and put a bunch of Flags on the the light poles in town, all while being championed by then councilor Dale Crafts and his cousin co-Hort current councilor Gina Mason.  Hello!!!???

4.   Town Manager Eldridge wants to pay an additional $20,000 to a Town Planner. Duplication of services come to mind?

  

5.    A town employee who heads up four departments with a total salary of a minimum of $90,000, has full use  of a town vehicle even for personal purposes, taxpayers paying for gas, tires and maintenance.

 

6.  Eldridge says in case of emergencies, while even Deputy Fire Chiefs, both stations, use their own vehicles in the case of emergencies.

 

Guess who soon will be footing the bill for a replacement vehicle?  Perhaps if the Fire Equipment was used for Lisbon Purposes instead of being 'Farmed Out' or Down for repairs more lives could be saved in Lisbon.

 

7. Replacing the roofing on a building that is not leaking, but not re-roofing a building that is leaking. 

 

All the while Town Council members sit at the council  budget meetings with blank faces, nod, and raise their collective hands  and vote YES on anything and everything Town Manager Eldridge proposes. No matter how inappropriate, unnecessary, useless and expensive ! ! ! ! !  

 

You have been forewarned, many times over.

 

Call your councilors! ! ! !

 

Tell them they need to cut spending! ! ! ! ! 

 

Cut the budget! ! ! ! ! !

 

Less income +  more spending = higher taxes.

                  Don't believe it?

 

Wait until you get your tax bill in August! ! ! ! ! !

 

Doesn't anybody have any DIGNITY, ETHICS or MORAL CHARACTER left in this Town anymore????

 

 

Dot Fitzgerald

A Very Concerned Lisbon citizen.

Budget Advisory Member Recounts Last Nights Workshop

 Dot Fitzgerald "Founding member of Lisbon Concerned Citizens" pictured with Frank Anicetti "The Original MoxieMan"

A friend recently told me not to write a letter to TLR or act when you are angry or upset.

Right now I am ignoring that advice.

Attending the April 24, 2012 Overview of Budget Workshop with Budget Advisory Board were Town Manager Steve Eldridge and Town Councilors, acting-chair Lori Pomelow, Mark Lunt, Mike Bowie, Gina Mason and Roger Bickford.

I was the only member of the Advisory Board to attend.

Two members of the Advisory Board were noticeably absent, a "silent protest" as the Advisory Board is advisory in name only. Advice, suggestions, are ignored.

Questions asked are answered and explained as though one were a little child.

Departments on the agenda were the Library, Town Engineer, Town Buildings, Technology, Solid Waste, Finance and Town Clerk.

Town Manager and Council are considering cutting $10,000 from the Library, already bare bones, budget. That would mean eliminating the pre-school, head-start and summer reading programs.

The Town Building budget includes $15,000 for new roofing and $4,000 to replace the windows at the E.T. Smith fire station In Lisbon village.

The fire station has 9 windows, 3 are very small. I have been informed that the cost of roofing materials have, like, gone through the roof.

But, $15,000 for a plain pitched roof with no dormers or valleys seems a little excessive.

A friend said he just replaced 13 windows in his older home for under $3,000.

Yet, $4,000 for nine windows?

Town Engineer said the Public works roof is leaking. The E.T.Smith Co. roof is NOT leaking.

Why are they replacing the non-leaking roof, instead if the one that is leaking?

These will go out to bid, and if bids are lower the extra will go into the town's undesignated funds account. Another word for a slush fund! ! ! ! ! !

I asked why Town Engineer, also head of Public Works, Solid Waste and Sewerage Treatment Plant has unlimited use of a town owned vehicle?

In case of an emergency I was told.

Putting mileage, wear and tear, tires, town employees doing the maintenance, for his personal use?

And guess who will have to pay when the vehicle needs to be replaced due to high mileage, etc?

You guessed it! ! !

Deputy Fire Chiefs for Lisbon and Lisbon Falls use their own vehicles in the event of an emergency.

Why can't the Town Engineer do the same?

The cost for all town employees to receive a 2% wage increase, or as Eldridge puts it, a one-time bonus, plus step/longevity increases is a whopping $174,657.
(One Hundred Seventy Four Thousand Six Hundred Fifty Seven Dollars).

I'm sure they are entitled to raises, but can the taxpayers afford it?

We all are paying more for gas, heating oil, groceries. with no big pay increases

The Town Manager and Town Council living in a fantasy land. Are acting like Lisbon Taxpayers have money trees growing in their back yards!!!!!

And still we are not allowed to vote on the town budget. Wonder Why??????



Dot Fitzgerald
A Very Fed Up Concerned Citizen

Lisbon Town Council Meeting April 17, 2012

Oh Hum!!! We Present The Town Council Agenda For April 17, 2012 SOS Different Day!!!

AGENDA
TOWN COUNCIL MEETING
TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 2012
LISBON TOWN OFFICE
7:00 P.M.

1. CALL TO ORDER & PLEDGE TO FLAG  (Along with their Hypocritical Oaths)

2. ROLL CALL
___Councilor Bickford
___ Councilor Bowie
___ Councilor Larochelle
___ Councilor Lunt
___Councilor Mason
___ Councilor Pomelow
___ Councilor Ward

Really, they are all 'suck pumps' for Lisbon Police Chief David T. Brooks
Town Clerk reading of meeting rules (Now how much is she paid a year??? That is Really Sweet, Not.)

3. PUBLIC HEARING

4. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION

5. AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION RESPONSE

6. CONSENT AGENDA
2012- 43 ORDER −
A. Mass Gathering Permits for Moxie Festival & Lisbon Promotions Committee (Whoop-T-Dew, one weekend a year for Lisbon Economic Development.  HOPE YA MAKE A KILL'IN!!!)
B. Mobile Home Park Renewals
C. Renewal Victualers Licenses
D. Minutes of March 27, 2012
E. Minutes of April 3, 2012

7. COUNCIL ORDERS, RESOLUTIONS, & ORDINANCES
2012- 44 ORDER −
Route 196 Sewer Line Project  (This Might Be Crappy??!)

8. OTHER BUSINESS
A. Finance Director’s Report (At $60K+ per year what can we expect?)
B. Town Manager’s Report  (Really Now, this should be enlightening, Bet it Ain't) Just more lies!!!

9. APPOINTMENTS

10. COUNCILOR COMMUNICATIONS

11. EXECUTIVE SESSION

12. ADJOURNMENT
2012- 45 ORDER −
To Adjourn

13. WORKSHOP WITH BUDGET ADVISORY BOARD (Like this will make a difference)
A. Police, Animal Control, and Communications
B. Public Works
C. Fire Department

Recap Town Council Workshop April 10 - Part 1‏

RECAP TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP APRIL 10^TH PART 1

The Council Workshop was extremely enlightening and yielded some very interesting facts. There is definitely going to be a tax increase this year in Lisbon. The only question is how much it is going to be. The town manager has convinced the town council there is a true need for a tax increase and according to his figures he is probably right. However, his recommendations are intended to support a tax increase. Remember, Eldridge does not pay property tax in this town.

The first important fact is Eldridge’s layout of the budget is designed to protect and hide money from the people and to cover-up the excessive spending by Chief Brooks (the person responsible for Eldridge being hired as town manager). Under 01-110, General Government/Contingency is a line item (5227) Grant Match which has a description of “Provides Grant Matching for PD Cruiser Video System $10,000 and furnishing to comply with Federal Grant Funding of equipment for Dispatch $15,000.” 

Both of these items pertain strictly with the Police Department so why aren't these two line items under the Police Department 02-200 Public Safety/Police Department?  

 Brooks and Eldridge are concealing funds. Also Brooks announced a $97,000 grant for Dispatch equipment at one of the last Town Council Meetings that does not have to be matched by the people of Lisbon. Doesn’t this sound screwy to you but it gets better because when you ask the town about this they declare the $15,000 dollars matching funds is for furniture. So that means $30,000 dollars for furniture for one individual in one office. What are you going to buy, a surround sound system, plasma television, pool table, and who can tell what else? Also under 02-202 Public Safety/Communications line item 5415 Furniture and Fixtures there is another $400 dollars requested. Why?

Why is there a line item under 01-115 General Government/Insurance called 5255 Police Liability? This Police Liability pertains solely to the Police Department so why isn’t it under the 02-200 Public Safety/Police Department? Brooks and Eldridge are hiding more dollars from the people to the tune of $8,000 dollars.

Why is under 01-135 General Government/Technology, is the Library Software Mandarain $6,000 and IMC software (Communication Software) agreement for $18,000 listed instead of their respective departments? This is strange because under 02-200 Public Safety/Police Department there is a line item for 5271 Service and Software Agreement but none under 02-202 Public Safety/Communications. There is no software line item under 04-410 Public Service/Library. Why?

Two more line items I need to mention that we have asked in the past and so usual it fell on deaf ears. Why are Hydrant Rental and Street and Traffic Lights listed under 03-315 and 03-320 respectively Public Works? Public Works has absolutely nothing to do with neither of these two line items. These two line items should be under General Government because they pertain to the entire town and not a single department. The reason these line items are under Public Works is so that when the town has to explain the budget, the Police Department budget will not stick out as the money pit that it is.

There are so many minor discrepancies in this proposed budget it is laughable. My very favorite is under the Town Manager/Mileage the description reads and I quote “Provides travel for above listed employees. Amount set per contract - $300p/m plus and addt’l travel.” Are you kidding me; $300 per mile?

Part 2 will explain more of the cover-up and wasting of funds.

If you want to follow the line items simply click on the following link to read for yourselves the entire budget proposed by the town manager.

http://www.lisbonme.org/vertical/sites/%7B23BCC392-4131-4737-99E0-6C6FCE7FB2A2%7D/uploads/2013_TM_Budget_Request_Fund_1_031612.pdf

 

Larry Fillmore

Concerned Citizen

The Ineptness Of Lisbon's Town Leadership Is Staggering: RECAP TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP APRIL 10TH – PART 2

RECAP TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP APRIL 10^TH – PART 2

Now, we have the layout of the budget identified. Let’s get into the meat of the workshop. The town council had requested the town manager reconsider the municipal budget. At Tuesday’s workshop, Eldridge presented several empty gestures such as cutting children’s story time and summer reading programs at the library. 

The other one I loved was cutting the Police Patrol hours or cut a Public Safety Officer and an Officer Safety. I have no idea what the difference is with these two positions because they are not listed on the police web site. Both of these gestures are empty.

In the proposed budget, Eldridge wants to award a 2% bonus to every employee of the town at a cost of $49,280 dollars. If you eliminate the department heads from this bonus, there would be sufficient funds to keep the children’s story time and summer reading programs in the budget. 

So the big question is do we fund children’s story time and the summer reading program plus keep the same hours at the Library or provide a 2% bonus to all the department heads? Keep in mind, the department heads in Lisbon’s salaries are $166,000 dollars more than their counterparts in Skowhegan.

Also, Eldridge has $55, 925 dollars for Professional Development in this municipal budget. This means the taxpayers of Lisbon are going to provide funds for employees to obtain degrees such as paralegal. Of course, there is no position for a paralegal in the town of Lisbon. Why are we wasting so much money on education and receiving no return on investment? 

Ryan Leighton is not a Licensed Professional Engineer and Sean Galipeau does not have his Bachelor’s degree in Public Safety. Neither of these two are fully qualified for their positions as department heads but the taxpayer’s are paying those individuals top dollars. If our pay scale was more in line with Skowhegan, we would have sufficient funds to reduce our capital improvements by paving roads and repairing town buildings without raising taxes.

Anyone who wants to review the proposed municipal budget can do so by going to the town web site and on the home page go down and click on the budget http://www.lisbonme.org/vertical/sites/%7B23BCC392-4131-4737-99E0-6C6FCE7FB2A2%7D/uploads/2013_TM_Budget_Request_Fund_1_031612.pdf.

 I really encourage each of you to do so and you will be shocked by the gross negligence of the town manager in proposing such a budget. Almost every page of the budget contains increases in the 2012-2013 budgets and yet the town has not utilized all the funds appropriated for last year. 

Here is the test, pick any page and look at only 2012 Budget; 2012 YTD and 2013 Manager. The first item is what the town budgeted for this year; the second one is how much of the budgeted amount have we spent and finally what Eldridge has proposed for next year. The explanation is you must always have a fudge factor as a safety measure. I agree with this concept except if you do not spend all of the money you budgeted you do not need this fudge factor; you simply budget the same amount you budgeted the year before. 

 However, since 2008 (when Eldridge came to Lisbon) this fudge factor has been increased every year whether you spend the funds or not so now we are really out of whack.

Taxpayers have to choose if they want to continue overpaying our department heads or adjust their salaries to a reasonable figure more in line with our town economy or to raise taxes every year. In the past, Eldridge stated the increases were due to loss of state revenue but this year we have an increase from $830,000 to $895,000 dollars. So why are they increasing taxes this year?

Now I am going to provide you with the town’s vision of the tax increase for this year.

Valuation      1 mil increase  Cost per month     2 mil increase    Cost per month

$100,000   $100.00    $8.00              $200.00          $17.00

$150,000   $150.00    $13.00            $300.00          $25.00

$200,000   $200.00    $17.00            $400.00          $33.00

$250,000   $250.00    $21.00            $500.00          $42.00

$300,000   $300.00    $25.00            $600.00          $50.00

*These figures were provided by Eldridge.

The town council is trying to keep the increase between 1 & 2 mil. Management of the Town of Lisbon does not understand how to hold taxes. There is no magic formula. It is simple to hold the line by (1) increase revenue and (2) reduce spending. Management or mismanagement of the town of Lisbon cannot grasp this concept.

Taxpayers have to decide how much more they are going to take before we put a stop to this insanity. Come to the Town Council meeting and speak out against this year’s budget before it is too late since the taxpayers are NOT going to have an opportunity to vote on the municipal budget this year.

Larry Fillmore

Concerned Citizen

Town Of Lisbon Managerial Report For January 1, 2012

Disclaimer: We did not write this material. It was done by well paid town employees.

 

Town Of Lisbon Greetings! Please click on the link below for the January reports: Managerial Report 1-2012 If you have any questions regarding this report or any other concern, please contact us. Respectfully, Stephen G. Eldridge Town Manager

Where Is The Merit Of Having Ordinances In Town If They Are Only Selectively Enforced?

By: Peter Reuter
The Lisbon Reporter


It is quite easy to see that Lisbon Public Safety Officials have no intention of enforcing the Winter Parking ban that is valid.  Case in Point, look carefully and you will see that Pomelow's truck is loaded and that it was there overnight during the snowstorm.  

 Truck parked on part of Town right of way.

Lisbon Winter Parking Ban Rules

Sec. 50-45. - Winter parking between 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. 

The owner or operator of any motor vehicle found parked or left unattended upon any way for a continuous 60-minute period between the hours of 12:00 midnight and 6:00 a.m. of any day during the period from November 1 to April 1 of each year shall, physicians on emergency calls excepted, be punished by a fine as provided in article V of this chapter.

(Code 1983, § 9-106)

State law reference— Snow removal, 29-A M.R.S.A. § 2069.

 So is this yet another violation that a Town Councilor skates over but everyone else must abide by?   Double Standards for Lisbon's Laws, selectively enforced by officials.  Maybe we all should just ignore the Ordinances and do what we want.    

Do you think Brooks and Eldridge will have a problem with it?
What about limiting public speaking at town council meetings? Councilor Pomelow had absolutely no trouble creating the new rules.

 Lisbon Public Safety Enforcer Police Chief David T. Brooks

Lisbon Town Manager

Which Rules Do We Follow, and Which Ones Do We Ignore?

What A Tangle Web We Weave When We First Practice To Deceive

WHAT IS WRONG WITH THESE PICTURES

At the town council meeting, February 17, 2012, the town council voted 5-1 to approve the memorandum submitted by the Public Works Director to post “Weight Restrictions” signs on various streets because of the early thaw. Also on the memorandum, it stated Webster Road and Wing Street were posted year round. 

Now compare the two photos below and tell me if they read the same. The “Weight Restriction” sign is from Webster Road and the “No Thru Trucks” is from Wing Street. To me there is a big difference in these two signs. The one on Wing Street is designed to allow David Pomelow to drive his tractor trailer rigs to and from his residence. This is the manner in which Brooks takes care of his councilors to protect his police budget.

 

Webster Street Sign

Wing Street Sign

According to the Town Code Enforcement Officer: We do not have a specific definition of business in our ordinance where as there are numerous descriptions for the word business. As for what constitutes having a business in different areas of town, zoning regulates where businesses can take place. There is such a use called "home occupation" where a person can run a small business within the confines of their home and not having any type of advertisement out-side their home.

Now let’s compare the next two photos and see if this is true or a double standard for the Pomelow’s.

Pomelow's Truck

Lisbon Public Safety Sign

Both of these pictures are advertising to the Public, both are on wheels and both have a trailer hitch; so what is the difference? Both are advertising so how can anyone state that the Pomelows are not operating a business from their residence. Once again, a double standard being applied because Lori Pomelow is a town councilor and receiving special treatment in order to protect Brooks budget.

Councilor Lori Pomelow

 
TALK ABOUT CORRUPTION AND COLLUSION IN THE TOWN OF LISBON!!!!!!!!!

Larry Fillmore
Concerned Citizen

Lisbon's fiscal Mismanagement.‏

February brings cold temperatures and thoughts of next years budget.

It has come to my attention, thanks to Mr. Filmore's research, that Lisbon is paying over 160 thousand dollars in excessive salaries for just 8 of our department heads when compared to Skowhegan's pay scale. (A town of similar size)

Finance Director --------------$11,748  more than Skowhegan
Town Manager-----------------$23,749  
Code Enforcement
Landfill
Transfer Station----------------$20,637
Economic Development------$11,367
Police Chief----------------------$7,521
Fire Chief-------------------------$3,180
Wastewater Supv.--------------$11,614
Town Engineer------------------$70,723
                               Total-----$160,539 more than Skowhegan

If you  apply this to the FY11's total tax levy of $9,654,000,  we are paying approx. 40 cents of our Mil rate for these excessive salaries.  That's about $60 dollars for the average $150,000
dollar house.

Now keep in mind this is just 8 employees.. If you go through our entire budget I am confident you will find this is only the tip of the iceberg.

Last Nov. we went to the ballot box and told our council we want to vote on the Town budget. This vote was a resounding Mandate of over 80% . 

Despite this mandate  last weeks council meeting  saw the foundation being set to deny us our vote on the Town Budget. Several of the founders of  our charter were requested to speak to give their reasons for not letting the taxpayers vote on the budget.

The Councilors still don’t “get it”   WE WANT TO VOTE ON THE BUDGET.  There is no room for interpretation.    WE WANT TO VOTE.....

What is keeping our councilors from respecting the will of the people.  Do they have some financial or other reason for snubbing their noses at the electorate?

I have heard rumors of town corruption and mismanagement for years.  Most of these I have taken  with a grain of salt but after this  obvious disregard for the publics wishes I am not so sure that the rumors don’t have a basis in truth.

It is time to pull our heads out of the sand and fix our fiscal problems. Ignoring them will only make matters worse.

We may need a forensic audit to uncover the full extent of this mismanagement.

Respectfully
Joe Hill
LisbonMaine.net

MISMANAGEMENT‏

 Dot Fitzgerald

Larry Fillmore's article (see below) is a prime example of why the Town of Lisbon's taxes are so high;

Putting a non-qualified person in charge of four (4) departments when he is barely qualified to head the

ones  (two) he was already in charge of.

It's too bad the workshops are not taped and aired on TV. Viewers would have seen Ryan Leighton

red-faced and stammering about the difficulties at the Public Works and Transfer Station.

Councilor Ward may have been on the right track when she mentioned that perhaps the employees

at those two departments need training. Or is it Department Head Ryan Leighton that needs the

Management Training?

It would seem that Town Manager Steve Eldridge is the one most in need of management training.

To put an untrained, unqualified person in charge of Solid Waste, plus Public Works and the Transfer

Station, in addition to the Engineering Department is, simply put, pure insanity and irresponsible.  

Dot Fitzgerald

A Very Concerned Lisbon Citizen

In Lisbon The Beat Goes On - A Pure Waste

A PURE WASTE OF $70,000 TAX DOLLARS

Last year’s budget included an 8.5% pay increase to the town engineer because the town manager decided to consolidate Public Works, Solid Waste, and Sewer Department under the town engineer.   Remember, the town engineer has never had more than one individual to supervise in the past twelve years and now he has approximately 16 full time; 4 part time and 2 summer personnel to directly supervise with absolutely no managerial training or experience.   According to the town, Leighton has a BS in Mechanical Engineering from UM; 16 additional credits in Civil Engineering; a Grade 2 Waste Water Operations License and is a certified Code Enforcement Officer. 

 

 Councilor Bowie

At last Tuesday’s Workshop, Councilor Bowie asked Leighton how the consolidation was working out and Leighton replied there were problems.  During the discussion that followed it came out, Leighton was having issues with personnel not complying with his guidance.  Councilor Ward also asked questions pertaining to why there were so many issues.  Town Manager Eldridge tried to rescue the situation by informing everyone that department heads are receiving managerial training.  If the department heads do not have managerial skills; what in the world qualifies these individuals to be hired as department heads with these inflated salaries, in this case $70,000.  This clearly demonstrates the incompetency of the town manager and also show’s a complete lack of respect for the individuals who had previously held these positions such as Wayne Ricker, now retired, Button Beale, and Gerald Kamke.

Councilor Ward

 

The most important aspect of this whole situation is Ryan Leighton is not a Licensed Professional Engineer and therefore cannot legally perform duties as an Engineer on any project over $100,000 dollars.  On the handout provided, it states under his Brief Description of Responsibilities “Prepare RFP’s, plan and supervise all major capital projects including computer upgrade, trails projects, public works road work, equipment replacement, etc.”  This statement is an outright lie because in the previous workshop Leighton himself stated the town will have to hire a Licensed Professional Engineer to supervise the trails project because it exceeds $100,000.  So, why are we wasting $70,000 a year to an individual who does not possess the required credentials to supervise our projects?  The town will have to hire an additional engineer who is a Licensed Professional Engineer  for all projects over $100,000.

The Solid Waste and Public Works Departments have always received outstanding comments from the Public and dedicated years of professional service under their respective department heads; so why change it.  If it is not broken why fix it!!!!!   The Waste Water Treatment Plant is rated as Class 4 by the State of Maine.  Leighton is only a Class 2 Operator and technically cannot be at the plant unless supervised by a Class 4 or 5 individual.  So, the real question is “If the State of Maine is holding our Class 4 & 5 personnel responsibility for the Waste Water Treatment Plant, how can Leighton be the Superintendent of Sewer?  What possible managerial skills does he bring to the table and how can he tell these two Class 4 & 5 personnel what to do when he is not qualified himself?” 



 
You do not have to be a rocket scientist to understand the stupid of consolidation under an individual who has never supervised personnel and who has absolutely no managerial training or experience.   This consolidation was done to justify Leighton receiving an 8.5% increase in his already inflated salary.  The real crime here is the town manager making a move like this which resulted in absolute no cost saving to the taxpayer of Lisbon because all of the previous department heads received the same salary and Leighton received a pay raise.  The town manager has no respect for the dedication and professionalism the town employees have devoted to this town.  Again, an individual (town manager) who does not understand good management practices. 

How much longer does the town of Lisbon have to put up with this mismanagement of town employees and the waste of our tax dollars?

 Town manager Eldridge

 The town manager’s evaluation is being reviewed by the town council and the council will approve keeping the town manager but the only way to stop this injustice is by getting rid of the cause.  Eldridge makes all decisions on town employees so he is responsible for this situation.  Lisbon cannot begin to heal without getting rid of the cancer in this town, Eldridge.

Larry Fillmore
Concerned Citizen