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Showing posts with label Town Council. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Town Council. Show all posts

Thursday, April 5, 2018

TOWN COUNCIL MANIPULATED OVER AND OVER AGAIN!


For the past few years, our Town Council has been manipulated by the Town Manager, Diane Barnes, when it comes to the Municipal budget.  Every year Mrs. Barnes comes in with an outrageous Municipal budget like this year adding $1.9 million dollars to last year’s budget knowing fully well this will never get approval in its entirety.  This is the shell game our Town Manager has been playing for years.

 
This strategy, used by Mrs. Barnes is like a con artist.  The con is to make the mark (in this case the Town Council) believe has done something good by reducing the demand which in this case is the Municipal budget.   I remember this strategy from my school days; two steps forward and one step back.  In this case Mrs. Barnes has proposed an increase of $1.9 million dollars when she knows fully well she will never get the full amount.  But it is important for her to make the Town Council think they have been financially responsible by reducing this budget in the best interest of the community.  This is extremely important for the con to work.  The Councilors actually believe they have save the taxpayer a large amount of tax dollars when this is as far from the truth as you can get. 

Here is how it works!  To understand this you need to first understand the primarily principle of economics which is:
 
                        REVENUE   =   EXPENDITURES

 
Now in Diane Barnes case it is different:

                        REVENUE    +    TAX INCREASE   =   EXPENDITURES
 
This is the reason our taxes go up every year.  Mrs. Barnes is counting on our Town Council to be satisfied with their cuts to not recognize the fact that every years our taxes go up.  Mrs. Barnes does not offer ANY options to reduce the expenditures of the town.  As long as the people continue to pay their taxes the town will never go bankrupt but what about the people?  Do the people of the community, especially those on a fixed income, have the resources to continue paying the tax increases every year?  THE CON IS THAT BY REDUCING THE PROPOSED BUDGET DOES NOT STOP THE INCREASE IN EXPENDITURES OR TAXES GOING UP EVERY YEAR.
 
Our Town Manager, Diane Barnes, knows that the only way to stop the tax increases is to reduce spending which she is not willing to do.  Mrs. Barnes understands that the Town Council is the ONLY entity that has the power to put a stop to this shell game by holding the line on last year’s budget and not letting Mrs. Barnes get away with this shell game she plays every year.  Without the Town Council recognizing what is happening to the people of Lisbon, there is no hope to stop the steady annual increase in our taxes.
 
I guarantee that the people will go bankrupt before the town if this is allowed to continue. 
 
The people need to call their Councilors and demand that this strategy be terminated immediately and that the Town Manager look for ways to reducing the operating cost of the town before forcing the people to pay more taxes.
 
Larry Fillmore

  

Wednesday, April 4, 2018

LISBON PUBLIC NOTICE

Public Hearing Notice

Amend Chapter 70, Zoning Ordinances, Division 13.-District Uses, sec. 70-531 Table of Land Uses

Notice is hereby given that the Lisbon Town Council intends to hold public hearings on April 17, 2018 at 7:00 PM in the Town Office Public Meeting Room.  They will hear comments on the Amendments to Chapter 70, Zoning Ordinances, Division 13.- District Uses, sec. 70-531 Table of Land Uses.  A copy is on file at the Clerk’s office and online. The public is invited to attend.
The Council also intends to hold the following public hearings on April 17 to hear comments on new Victualer's Licenses for the Flux Restaurant,10 Main Street, Lisbon Falls; Walts Place, 13 Village Street, Lisbon;  EZ Marts of Maine d/b/a X-Tra Mart, 10 Frost Hill Ave, Lisbon Falls; and Richard George d/b/a Subway, 568 Lisbon Street, Lisbon Falls..
 
SUBMITTED BY:  TOWN OF LISBON

Saturday, March 31, 2018

A REVIEW OF TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP – PART 2

 
The numbers at the end of the Departments is the time it started to be discussed.  This can be used for the people to review exactly what was said.
 
This is my take on the three and a half hour Town Council Workshop held on March 27, 2018 pertaining to the proposed 2018-2019 Municipal Budget.  It started off with:
 
ASSESSING DEPARTMENT (1:22):  There is only one employee in this department and her Medical Insurance increased from 2018 - $3,060.00 to 2019 - $16,644.00 which seems to be excessive but no one questioned it.  Also, they want to add an additional employee part-time for 20 hours at a rate of $14,560.00.
 
TECHNOLOGY DEPARTMENT (23:10):  This was most entertaining.  They had a discussion about whether or not the new software was working as well as advertised.  I find this odd because the time to have this discussion should have been before the town entered into any contract.  The question was which is better MUNIS or TRIO.  The town intents to maintain both software packages which make it very hard to learn two different systems let alone pay for two software packages.  This should have been ironed out before entering into a contract.  Also, there is no disaster recovery in place and why not?  The town wants to keep the Vehicle and Assessing modules of TRIO and convert everything else to MUNIS.  Also, there is no Life Cycle Management in place.
 
TOWN BUILDINGS DEPARTMENT (1:12:30):  The town will have to adjust Electricity and Heating line items at a later date.  R&M Building was reduced $35,000.00 because some items are being taken care of using the Undesignated Funding. 
 
PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT (1:45:46):  The major problem here is the salary for the Public Works Director is based on a comparison of other towns with a population close to Lisbon, however, it should be based on total Revenue.  It is impossible to determine the salary without having the Revenue coming in to pay this employee.  Think of it like this:  “Is Food City the same as Shaw’s or Hannaford?  Is Family Dollar the same as Walmart as far as the Revenue the towns receive?  It is not possible to determine the salary without first knowing the Revenue you have.  The Town Manager, Diane Barnes, is looking at the Department Head salaries of other towns with much more Revenue to work with.  A simple comparison is to check out the number of businesses of Lisbon and Skowhegan.  How can towns pay the outrageous salaries when they do not have the money to pay them?  This is directly responsible for the increase in taxes EVERY year.  You have to compare apple to apples and not apples to oranges.  This outrageous salary of $75,005.00 needs to be adjusted to reflect what the town can pay based on the Revenue received.
 
 I do not understand why the Town Manager is advertising for a Public Works Director when the town still employees Elwood “Button” Beal.  Button Beal was the Public Works Director for many many years and has a very satisfactory track record.  Button Beal was before the Town Manager’s time but Public Works functioned very professionally and provided a great service to the community.  Going outside to get a new Public Works Director is totally misuse of an excellent asset already employed and a total waste of time and money.  It is a disgrace by the Town Manager who apparently does not realize that promoting from within increases the moral of the staff.
 
The town needs another mechanic and could use the money they want to increase Department Heads salaries to pay for another mechanic.  The town should establish a cap on Department Head salaries that is based on the Revenue received to operate the town.  It is critical that the Town Council get their heads out of their fourth point of contact and start cutting spending instead of raising the taxes on the people.  The Town Manager and Town Council were hired or elected to be financially responsible to the people and they are failing miserably.  The people need to elect individuals who will not be “YES men” for the Town Manager and instead do what is best for the community; raising taxes is not the right answer.
 
The line item “Motor Vehicle” was raised $15,000.00.  This is more spending for toys for the boys.  Look at how much the Asphalt Reclaimer is being used to help out with the roads.  Are you happy with our roads/streets?
 
 
Larry Fillmore

 

 

Friday, March 30, 2018

TOWN COUNCIL AGENDA - APRIL 3, 2018

 

A REVIEW OF TOWN COUNCIL WORKSHOP – PART 1

 
The numbers at the end of the Departments is the time it started to be discussed.  This can be used for the people to review exactly what was said.
 
SOLID WASTE DEPARTMENT (2:56:01):    I found this discussion the most laughable one of the entire evening.  Chairman Allen Ward went into a rant about the staff at the Transfer Station NOT doing enough to educate the people on recycling to offset the 2% yearly increase in Waste Disposal cost.   Having the staff at the Transfer Station lecture the people about recycling equates to the statement by Nancy Pelosi “We cannot arm teachers; it violates the rights of the shooter.”
 
Not so long ago the Town Council established a sub-committee to investigate alternative options like pay as you go; curbside pickup and pay per bag.  The end result was THE PEOPLE like the Transfer Station just the way it is. Bases on the findings of this sub-committee the Town Council decided to keep the operations the same.
 
I cannot see the staff at the Transfer Station holding recycle classes or making it mandatory to attend a recycle class at the town office prior to being issued a Transfer Station pass.  However, it was suggested that raising the cost of the Transfer Pass to cover the increase in Waste Disposal and I believe this is a much better solution to offset the cost; providing the town does not go too crazy on the increase.  I can see the town raising the cost Transfer Station passes to cover the ridiculous increased in Department Head salaries.
 
Councilor Lunt brought up the FACT that the Transfer Station is under staffed.  I believe that Councilor Lunt has a point.  I go to the Transfer Station roughly twice a week and there have been numerous days that there was only one individual there.   As far as I am concerned, and I believe that I speak for the majority of the town is that the Transfer Station staff does an excellent job and is a credit to the community.  According to Ryan Leighton, (a very unreliable source in my opinion) there are three individuals on a daily basis and four individuals on duty on Saturday.  I have been back in Lisbon for eleven years and NOT once have I see Ryan Leighton at the Transfer Station.  Mr. Marcel Obie should be the Department Head, in my opinion, and that the staff needs to be increased.
 
Another point of discussion was that there is no one monitoring who uses the Transfer Station.   This means posting a full-time individual at the entrance checking for Transfer Station passes to ensure that ONLY authorized personnel are using OUR facilities.  Also, Chairman Ward pointing out that the lower building is NOT supervised; again, this goes back to staffing.  If the Town Council redistributed the funds currently designated for Department Heads salary increases; there would be more than enough to hire two more individuals at the Transfer Station to cover all the demands of the Town Council.  
 
I cannot understand how the wages increased but FICA, retirement medical insurance and unemployment line items went down.  An increase in wages should normally generate an increase not a decrease in these line items. 
 
WASTE WATER TREATMENT PLANT (3:12:48):  I have a real concern over the salary of the Waste Water Treatment Plant Director.  Again this is based on a comparison with other towns with the same or close population and not the Revenue of the other towns.  This is like comparing Food City to Shaw’s or Hannaford’s or even better Family Dollar to Walmart or K-Marts.  Salaries should be based on the Revenue the town has and the people can afford to pay.  Check out the number of businesses in Lisbon verses Skowhegan.  This salary need to be adjusted to meet the Revenue of the town and not population.
 
I do not understand why Postage has increased $500.00 this year?  But what is more puzzling is why no one on the Town Council questioned the increase.

 
Larry Fillmore

 

Thursday, March 29, 2018

REVIEW OF BUDGET WORKSHOP

On Tuesday March 27 I attended the marathon town budget workshop.
I was the only member of the public that attended.
 
Prior to said meeting I printed the new budget so I could follow along.
 
I strongly suggest that each and every member of the community and taxpayer
obtain a copy of said budget and read it.
 
At the budget meeting I asked about the part time person in the Assessing
department, and the salary for the Waste Water Treatment Plant.
 
I was told that various towns in Maine, similar in population were called and that
some of those town had part time and some had full time assistants, and that was
the salary paid to heads of Waste Water Plants.
 
I always assumed that each and every town and city, not only in Maine but across
the country was different and unique.

It would seem that I am wrong.
 
It would seem, according to Town Manager Diane Barns, that that salaries of
department heads in the town of Lisbon need to compare to each and every
town of equal population in the Great State of Maine, no matter how many and
types of businesses or industry, income of residents and tax payers; if homes
and businesses compare in value.
 
As I said, each and every town and community is unique, we and not them.
 
                                "WE ARE LISBON" 
  
Note: read and pay attention to the articles Larry Fillmore has witten in the Lisbon Reporter
on the Town Budget. Be informed.
 
Note: We, the citizens of Lisbon, can vote on the school budget, but cannot vote on the town budget.
We have to rely on the common sense, or lack of, of members of our town Council.
 
SUBMITTED BY:  DOT FITZGERALD
                             CONCERNED CITIZEN
 
 

WHEN DOES COMMON SENSE COME IN???

 

I would like to know “When Common Sense is applied to the proposed budget?”  I am just am country boy from Freeport, Maine but I have handled many many budgets in my career.  The basic principle of budgeting is that you cannot spend more than you make.  You see this basic principle applied daily in every household budget in the world with the exception of Lisbon, Maine.
 
The Town Manager and the Town Council must believe that the citizens of Lisbon have very deep pockets and can come up with any amount of money.  This is the reason that our taxes go up every year.  Let’s take a look at the Department Heads salaries:
 
DEPT HEAD                          2018 Salary             2019 Proposed      Difference

Town Manager                   $95,047.00              $96,482.00              $1,435.00

Assessing Director                58,565.00                59,452.00                    887.00

Code Enforcement               73,090.00                77,777.00                 4,687.00

Finance Director                   75,394.00                77,228.00                 1,834.00

Town Clerk Director            54,217.00                56,560.00                 2,343.00

Chief of Police                       76,130.00                77,270.00                 1,140.00

Fire Chief                                69,797.00                75,005.00                 5,208.00

EMS Director                           1,523.00                   1,546.00                        23.00

Public Works Director        42,246.00                75,005.00              32,759.00

Solid Waste  Director          21,123.00                          0.00              -21,123.00

Recreation Director             61,014.00                61,922.00                     908.00

Library Director                    51,788.00                54,089.00                  2,301.00

General Assistance Dir        10,353.00                10,508.00                     155.00

Economic Director               53,878.00                57,276.00                  3,398.00

Treatment Plant Dir             21,123.00                82,717.00                61,594.00

                                                                                                TOTAL           $97,549.00
 
This is all part of the $1,900,000.00 increase in this year’s budget over last years.  This will raise the current mil rate by 4.36 mils.  I believe last year’s mil rate is 23.2 which mean that this years’ mil rate will be 27.56.  There is no telling how much your taxes will go up.
 
These salaries are supposedly compared to town with the same size populations as Lisbon.  This is not based on the Revenues of these towns so you are comparing apples to oranges.  Lisbon is basically a retirement (bedroom) community where in Skowhegan has many more businesses that generate revenue for the community.  Remember Revenues must exceed or equal Expenditures.  In Lisbon, the expenditures (money paid out) exceed our Revenue (money coming in) and so the town has to get more money from the people in taxes to offset this loss.  The proper way to correct this problem is to reduce your expenditures until it equals your Revenue.
 
The Town Manager and the Town Council had rather raise taxes than to reduce expenditures.  A prime example is the Lisbon Communication Center, which is nothing more than a message center, which passes information from the Androscoggin County Dispatch to our First Responders, at a cost to the town of $345,246.00 this year.  By eliminating the middle man by having Androscoggin County Dispatch contacting our First Responder directly, there is a cost saving to the town of approximately $200,000.00 annually.  This clearly demonstrates an unwillingness to reduce expenditures.  It is easily for the town to raise taxes on its people rather than cut spending.
 
The Town Council voted to cover the failing Lisbon Emergency Service, Inc. at an additional cost to the taxpayer of $127,885.00 this year.  I support this investment in our community but the Town Council and the Town Manager need to reduce the operating cost of this town (Spending) and so far they are NOT willing to do this.
 
Basic principle, Revenues (money coming in) must match the Expenditures (money going out) or eventually you go bankrupt.  The Town Manager and the Town Council are irresponsible when it comes to looking out for the people’s tax dollars in my eyes.
 
Call your Councilors and discuss this issue with them if you care about your taxes.
 
Larry Fillmore

 

Wednesday, March 28, 2018

WHO IS LOOKING OUT FOR THE PEOPLE????


I have been reviewing the proposed 2018-2019 Municipal budget, which currently has a $1,900,000.00 increase over last year’s budget.  I am going to show some outstanding differences. 
 
Let’s start with the biggest irresponsible act of all.  It is a pay increase for all employees disguised as Cost-of-Living-Allowance (COLA).  All town employees, regardless of their position, have been receiving this for the past eight-ten years.  This year is no exception.  COLA was created by the Federal government to off-set inflation but is used to ensure ALL employees receive a wage increase EVERY year regardless of the economy.
 
DEPT HEAD                          2018 Salary             2019 Proposed      Difference

Town Manager                   $95,047.00              $96,482.00              $1,435.00

Assessing Director                58,565.00                59,452.00                    887.00

Code Enforcement               73,090.00                77,777.00                 4,687.00

Finance Director                   75,394.00                77,228.00                 1,834.00

Town Clerk Director            54,217.00                56,560.00                 2,343.00

Chief of Police                       76,130.00               77,270.00                 1,140.00

Fire Chief                                69,797.00                75,005.00                 5,208.00

EMS Director                           1,523.00                   1,546.00                        23.00

Public Works Director        42,246.00               75,005.00              32,759.00

Solid Waste  Director          21,123.00                          0.00              -21,123.00

Recreation Director             61,014.00                61,922.00                     908.00

Library Director                    51,788.00                54,089.00                  2,301.00

General Assistance Dir       10,353.00                10,508.00                     155.00

Economic Director               53,878.00                57,276.00                  3,398.00

Treatment Plant Dir            21,123.00                82,717.00                61,594.00

                                                                                                TOTAL           $97,549.00

 

Ryan Leighton

Public Works Director      $42,246.00
Solid Waste Director          21,123.00
Treatment Plant Director  21,123.00

                        TOTAL          $84,492.00  in 2018

(Not bad for an individual with no qualification for any position)
 
Now, I dare anyone to show me an equal means to justify the difference in salaries.  These salaries were determined by the Town Manager, Diane Barnes and I cannot understand how they were determined, maybe by favoritism. 
 
The total increase, for just the Department Heads, is $97,549.00 by my calculator.  I believe that there are approximately 100 town employees and this is just 15 employees.  So what is this COLA increase going to total for the other 85 employees?
 
I can never remember getting a $1,400.00 dollars pay increase every year and I worked for forty years.  Can any of you citizens remember when you did?  This is not only wrong but totally irresponsible on the part of the Town Manager and the Town Council as a whole.  We, the people, hired or elected these individuals to represent our best interest and as far as I am concerned they failed measurable.  
 
I will be reporting on numerous other problems with this proposed budget but I know that it will not make a difference to either the Town Manager or the Town Council.
 
 I hope, the people, remember these discrepancies in November.
 
Larry Fillmore

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, March 26, 2018

WHY??????????????????

 
When Mrs. Diane Barnes, Town Manager, first came to Lisbon and the people had an opportunity to meet her; I was very impressed with Mrs. Barnes.  I thought she would be a good fit for the town and with her financial background would help taxpayers.  Since that time, I have seen firsthand that this was all a front.
 
Since, she has been our Town Manager; her budget has increased taxes every year.  Mrs. Barnes has made absolutely no attempt to reduce the municipal budget; in fact, she has included a Cost-of-Living-Allowance (COLA) every year she has been here.  The Federal government uses COLA to offset inflation but in Lisbon it is used to grant pay raises to ALL town employees.  How does a person being paid over $90,000.00 a year needs an increase of 2% ($1,800.00) every year disguised as COLA?
 
Now, the Town Manager is trying to replace the Public Works Director previously held by Ryan Leighton.  This is a total waste of our tax dollars.  Mr. Elwood “Button” Beal, who is still working for Public Works, was the director before Ryan Leighton and had an outstanding record.  I remember when “Button” was the director of Public Works and there were nowhere near the problems we are experiencing today.   Given “Button’s” track record, why is the Town Manager advertising for a Public Works Director?  This is a total waste of our tax dollars and members of the Town Council should put a stop to this.
 
I noticed that there is NO advertising for a Superintendent of Sewer which Ryan Leighton was being paid for when he was never qualified for the position.  The Sewer Department has Mr. Stephen Aievoli as the Operations Manager and the State of Maine has accepted his reports as far as the Environmental Protection Agency needs.
 
Mr. Marcel Obie has been operating the Transfer Station since Mr. Wayne Ricker retired.  I believe that most residents of Lisbon would agree that Marcel has been doing an outstanding job and should continue as the Manager.  This is another position Ryan Leighton claimed in his over $80,000.00 dollar salary annually. 
 
The Town Manager needs to stop wasting taxpayers’ dollars and concentrate on reducing the operating cost of the town.  This year’s budget, which is $1.9 MILLION more than the current budget, also included a COLA increase which will put the cost of wages and benefits at 49.6% of the entire municipal budget.  Mrs. Barnes needs to put a stop to wasting tax dollars.
 
Larry Fillmore

Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Monday, March 19, 2018

LISBON ROADS AND STREETS

 
This year has been extremely hard on our roads and streets.  There are potholes everywhere making it difficult to drive.  I do understand that it is still winter and hard for Public Works to repair our road and streets.  However, nothing is stopping Public Works from marking these potholes to alert drivers of the hazard.
 
However, the question is “Is Public Works under Ryan Leighton doing all that they can for the residents of Lisbon?”  I answer that question with a resounding “NO”.  I remember years ago before Ryan Leighton being Public Works Director; a gentleman name Button Beale was the Public Works Director and we never had any of the problems we have been having lately.
 
Putting Ryan Leighton as the Public Works Director, Superintendent of Sewer, and in charge of the Transfer Station was a temporary fix because the State of Maine finally stepped in and told the town that Ryan Leighton was NOT qualified as a Maine Licensed Engineer.  Ryan Leighton had been getting paid as a fully qualified licensed engineer.  The town of Lisbon had been wasting our tax dollars on unqualified personnel being in positions where they needed to be qualified.  The “condition of employment agreement” was written so that the individuals never had to complete the qualifications for the position.  
 
Now Ryan Leighton is moving on and as far as I am concerned not fast enough; we have qualified individuals’ current in place to perform the various duties and in fact most cases have been doing the work but Ryan Leighton has been taking the credit.  The town has been paying a Ryan Leighton close to $90,000.00 tax dollars when it was not necessary.  I hope the Town Council is smart enough to restore the individuals who are actually doing the work back in supervisory positions and NOT try to replace Ryan Leighton.  How can you replace nothing?
 
Let’s learn to save tax dollars by putting ONLY qualified individuals in the required positions and if they want to do a “condition of employment agreement” makes it very clear the desired outcome and a timeline in order to complete the qualifications.  By the way, they should be hired a lower salary until they become fully qualified.
 
STOP WASTING OUR TAX DOLLARS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
Larry Fillmore

Tuesday, March 13, 2018

LISBON TOWN COUNCIL MEETING CANCELLED

NOTICE: Council Workshop March 13 Cancelled due to the storm

School Budget Presentation

Tormorrow night's Council Workshop for March 13 has been cancelled.  It has been rescheduled to March 21 at 7:00 PM.   
SUBMITTED BY:  TOWN OF LISBON

Monday, March 12, 2018

LISBON PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

Public Hearing Notice

AMend Chapter 46 Streets, Sidewalks, & Other Public Places, Art I-In General And to Amend Chapter 34 Sewer Ordinance

Notice is hereby given that the Lisbon Town Council intends to hold a public hearing on March 20, 2018 at 7:00 PM in the Town Office Public Meeting Room to hear comments on an amendment to Chapter 46, Streets, Sidewalks, and Other public places, Article 1 In General and to amend Chapter 34 Sewer Ordinance.  Copies are available at the Town Clerk's Office and on this website.  The public is invited to attend.
Twila Lycette, Lisbon Town Clerk
SUBMITTED BY:  TOWN OF LISBON

Wednesday, March 7, 2018

EXCUSES, EXCUSES, EXCUSES


Approximately three weeks ago, I could not find the Town Council agenda for the following Tuesday’s meeting.  I called the Town Manager, Diane Barnes, and asked her for the location.  She informed me that the Town had changed the location on the Town website.  I asked her why the website was only partly changed and she informed me that it was because a contract stopped and that the person who was responsible for the website was on vacation that week.
 
This just highlight the Administration of the Town of Lisbon is in serious trouble.  In my eyes the first rule of operating a website is to make it accessible for its users.  I believe in the KISS theory.  Keep It Simple Stupid (KISS).  A website should always be designed with the Users in mind because it is for their use.  The Town website is not User friendly; in fact, it is totally confusion by having redundant ways to locate certain items.  I was always taught that redundancy is for saving/backing up data which is NOT the responsibility of the User. 
 
Simple ways to locate items eliminate confusion for the Users.  Users should be the primary focus when designing a website.  Right now, on the Town website there are at least two different paths to take to locate the Town Council agendas.  It is much easier to maintain and for the Users when there is one path to locate the Town Council agendas.  Also, if you follow the path of Town Council – Council Agenda & Minutes – Current Tuesday Agenda – Town Council – Agenda it takes you to the current Town Council agenda.  There is absolutely no need for the last two screens because the Town Council agenda should come up when you click on Current Tuesday Agenda.  The User should never have to go beyond that screen.  The current system is a waste of time and money to maintain and confuses Users.
 
Now if you go Minute and Agendas – Town Council – 2018 – Select the Town Council Agenda you are looking for.  This is less friendly to Users.  The Administration staff of the Town has absolutely no concept of what they are doing, in my eyes.  First of all, according to Mrs. Barnes there is only one individual that can make changes to the website.  I do not believe that I have to explain why this is not acceptable.  Because there are unnecessary screens that Users have to go through and the fact there are two different paths is a clear indication that very little planning when into the design of the website.  Clearly there is no oversight of this project.
 
Next, why was the changes implemented without making ALL the necessary changes to the website?  This is another indication of little to no oversight.  The Town Manager works for the Town Council who works for the people; so I ask again where is the oversight.  The Town Council needs to look into the Town website since they are overall responsible.  There needs to cross-training so that the town does not have to rely on just one individuals to maintain the website.
 
The residents of Lisbon deserve better.

 
Larry Fillmore