Here's Your Chance Lisbon Residents To Voice Your Concerns, Before the Budget is passed and Tax Bills go out!

Come One – Come All

To All Lisbon Residents

Come one come all and watch your hard earned money go to excessive spending by the Town Manager and our Town Council. On Tuesday evening, June 21, 2011, at 7:00 PM, the Town Council will vote and approve the proposed budget presented to them by the Town Manager. This budget has an enormous amount of excessive spending. Here is a listing of some of the issues (not in any order of priority):

• 3.65% increase in the Town Manager secretary’s pay for “adjustment for job duties”. What are these additional duties?
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• 103.89% increase for the Town Manager and his Secretary for “Professional Development”. What is the training?
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• Why are the Fire Chief and the Recreation Department Director going to receive a $10,000.00 increase in their salary? According to my calculator, this is more than the 1.75% everyone else is receiving.
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• Under the Town Clerk, R & M Equipment the town spent $84.81 in 2010 and $502.00 in 2011 but the Town Manager has budgeted $2,400.00. There are approximately 50 line items which are all the same. The proposed budget is heavily padded.
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• Under the Animal Control Officer, Gas, is increased 85.42%. The notation reads “due to additional Town to patrol”. Why isn’t the other town paying for this additional gas?
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• Under the Town Engineer, this salary is $37,428.00. The notation reads “Town Engineer’s Salary @ 50%. Why is this only half of his salary? Is it because the other have is under Public Works/Solid Waste?
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• Under 70-700 Economic Development there is $54,418.00 proposed by the Town Manager and $109,157.00 by the Elected. The Town of Lisbon has a State of Maine approval to pay for the Economic Development from the Tax Increment Financing (TIF) from Dingley Press. Why are any monies being allotted for the support of the Economic Development Department at all?
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• Under last year’s budget of $7,683,181.66 the town has spent approximately $6 million plus. Where is the other million plus going? I do not see it accounted for in this year’s budget.

I cannot believe the Town Manager is going to submit this proposal to the Town Council for a vote. But what is more important is the Town Council will rubber stamp this proposed budget with a vote of 6-1. 

If you check out the Town of Lisbon web site under Agenda you will find the agenda for Tuesday meeting. If you go under Agenda you will find agenda documents and handouts and there is no proposed budget. There is the proposed Council Working Rules but no proposed budget. I guess they do not want you to have an opportunity to review the proposed budget.

IT IS CRITICAL THE RESIDENTS OF LISBON WHO WANT A SAY IN HOW THE TOWN MANAGER AND THE TOWN COUNCIL SPENDS THEIR MONEY; TUESDAY NIGHT WILL BE THE ONLY TIME YOU WILL HAVE BEFORE THE VOTE. COME SEE HOW THE TOWN COUNCIL VOTES ON THIS BUDGET. THIS WILL CLEARLY DEMONSTRATE WHICH COUNCILORS HAVE THE BEST INTEREST OF THE TOWN OF LISBON AT HEART.

Larry A. Fillmore
Concerned Citizen

Responsibility?

WOW

Reading all of Town Engineer(?) Ryan Leighton's duties and responsibilities I'm wondering how he can possibly take on any additional duties and responsibilities? And do them well! Town Manager Eldridge and Town Council, with the exception of one councilor, are making him Department Head of the departments of Solid Waste and Public Works.

Button Beals has done an outstanding job heading up the Public Works Department, so why replace him? Managing the Department of Public Works is a four -season full time job. From where I sit at 6 School Street, near the intersection of School Street and Route 196, I have a view towards Main Street, and Route 196, towards the high school and downtown, plus a garden area. Streets are plowed, swept, repaired, gardens are raked and mowed, hats off to Faye Brown and her workers who do an outstanding job, all in a timely fashion. The public works department workers work well together, so why change it? Why fix what is not broken? Does Mr. Leighton even live in town? Is this an excuse to give him a raise? Not that Eldridge and town council, all but one, need an excuse to give raises.

This is a BAD idea.

There is a budget workshop this Tuesday, April 26, 2011 at 7 p.m. at the town office. The audience cannot speak, but can surely listen.



There is also a public hearing on the budget next Tuesday, May 3, 2011at 7 p.m. at the Community School.



One has to read the small print legal notices in the newspaper to know what is going on in town, can usually be found in the sports section, at the bottom of the page. And no, Fern, I do not read those before the funnies. I save the best for last.



Also on the Tuesday, May 3rd agenda is a large bond issue, including $135,000 to replace the roof at the MTM Center; $115,000 to finish replacing windows and insulation at the MTM Center; Lisbon Fire Station, $35,000 for siding and electrical work; $100, 000, replace the Fisher Road Bridge; plus another bond to the tune of $310,000 for a

revaluation. Did I leave anything out?

To the citizens and taxpayers of Lisbon

BE INFORMED

BE INVOLVED

Dot Fitzgerald

A Very Concerned Citizen

The Town Manager and the Town Council are at it again

All Lisbon Residents

The Town Manager and the Town Council are at it again. It is budget season and the Town Manager and Town Council are hiding outrageous spending. They are blaming raising taxes again this year on the decrease in state and federal funding. After reading the information below, see if you agree.

At the 12 April 2011 Public Hearing on the budget, the Town Manager did not give a presentation justifying their spending instead he tried to cover it up. The town budget should be prepared to show the residents where and why they are increasing spending or decreasing services to the residents.

The town budget has several items in there which needs to be addressed. In the latest budget proposal, five wage workers are losing their jobs in order to provide salary increases to personnel already receiving the highest salaries in the town. Originally, the Town Manager recommended six individuals to receive a ten thousand dollar pay raise. Below are the individuals and their current salaries (these figures were provided by the town):

Stephen Eldridge $83,842

David Brooks 68,653

Ryan Leighton 69,310

Sean Galipeau 53,840

Wayne Ricker 46,616

Mark Stevens 36,144

*The current proposal still has $13, 127 increases in the Town Manager’s budget. I believe the breakdown is $10,000 for his salary and $3,127 for his secretary’s professional development.

At the Public Hearing the Town Manager stated only two of these individuals were going to get the raises. One was the Town Engineer, Ryan Leighton, who is now going to receive an 8% increase to offset the additional duties as the Director of three departments which already have Directors in the proposed budget. One department is Public Works and Mr. Beale will receive the same salary he current is receiving but as a wage employee. It will be the same for the other two departments. These new wage workers will be eligible to collect overtime at the expense of the residents of Lisbon. This is their idea of cutting operating cost. It is a new scam.

The old scam was to inflate salaries as they hired new personnel. A prime example of this scam is in the Economic Development Department. Three directors ago had a Masters Degree in Economics’ and was paid $42,000. The next director had an Associated Degree in Liberal Art (which has nothing to do with Economics’) and received a salary of $60,000+. I guess it is who you know. The current director has a Masters Degree in Economics’ and is receiving $55,000. The key players in this town are receiving inflated salaries.

Another example of why our taxes are so high is the Town Engineer position. I believe it requires a Civil Engineer and the current Town Engineer is a Mechanical Engineer receiving $69,310 of our tax dollars. There is a great deal of difference between a Civil Engineer and a Mechanical Engineer. I do not see how the current individual is qualified to hold this position.

However, all of these scams are perfectly legal because the Town Council approved them. There is no one in the Town of Lisbon that can tell me the Town Council has the best interest of the town or its residents at heart when voting on such items. There are numerous other items going on which are not in the best interest of the town but because the Town Council rubber stamps anything the Town Manager puts before them they will continue to raise our taxes. I believe two councilors spouses are operating businesses out of their residence which is zoned residential. If true, this is a violation of our town ordnances. But the bigger question is why hasn’t anyone addressed this issue before. Town councilors should be setting the example not be the offenders.

The real injustice in the Town of Lisbon is residents never come out and speaking up at town council meeting before the items are approved. At Town Council meeting there is two of us speaking out trying to make a difference. The only time we see the rest of the residents is after the fact. Everyone was so upset after last years tax increase but once it is done it can not be changed. Now is the time to speak out. 

Come to the final budget meeting on 3^rd May 2011. It is currently being held at the new Lisbon Community School Cafeteria at 7:00PM.

My personal feelings is any Councilor who votes for any budget increasing our taxes again this year need to be immediately recalled. We need Councilors who have the town’s best interest at heart.

Larry Fillmore

Lisbon, Me.

Lisbon Managerial Reports Now Available

View and/or Print out your own copy of the Reports from Lisbon Managers.

Click here.

Twice Now

For the second weekend in a row the crew at the Lisbon Transfer Station have been left to pick up a mess created when some person(s) discarded their trash after the site was closed for the weekend.  Access was gained by 'jumping the fence'.   Sometime after the station was closed on Saturday, either Sunday or Monday, the individual(s) scaled the fence and proceeded to leave their garbage in closest bay they could find.

Then the wild critters get into it an strew it all over the place.  This just makes a mess and creates more work for them.

With the addition of single stream recycling, it has become real EASY to recycle items.  But it takes an effort on everyone's part and efforts like this, of 'chucking' your trash after hours is not a respected effort.

TSI (Transfer Station Investigators) agents are busy sifting through the evidence left behind by the perpetrator(s).

Hours of Operation
Tuesday	7:30 am - 5:00 pm
Wed. - Fri.	7:30 am - 4:00 pm
Saturday	7:00 am - 3:00 pm
Sunday	Closed
Monday	Closed
Holidays	Closed

For more information on Lisbon Transfer Station click here.

New Swap Shop at the Lisbon Falls Mall :))‏

Official Swap Table Update

The swap shop at the Transfer and Recycling facility has been a very important part of Lisbon’s success of a high rate of recycling. The area has been closed for two major reasons.

          1=     Lisbon changed insurance companies. Upon inspection, they requested us to stop all scavenging of material for liability exposure.

          2=     Things just got out of hand on items left! A list could be made to long to print, from broken items, syringes, etc.  Lawn sale items left at closing time on Saturday’s would get ruined when it rained. It did rain a lot this summer. All these wet items were turned to junk. 

          To reopen, we need better cooperation from everyone.

Signed by: Wayne Ricker (Director of Solid Waste Department)