On February 21, 2017, our
Town Council took a vote on whether or not to close the Lisbon Communication
Center. The vote was 4-3 with Chairman
Ward, Councilors Brunelle, Crafts and Albert voting to keep the communication
center open and Councilors Lunt, Kolbe and Crawford opposed. So let’s take a look at this decision and see
who is right.
The sole reason provided to
keep the Communication Center open was to keep local control. In other words, the “Good Old Boys” must
remain in total control of the town.
Councilor Brunelle pushed the issue and called for a vote and Councilor
Albert seconded the motion.
Now let’s look at the impact
of their decision. The following is a
listing of how this decision affects the community.
1. The Town had an opportunity to have the Androscoggin
County Dispatch dispatch our First Responders instead of having to relay the
information to Lisbon Communication Center to have them dispatch first
responders. This would have enabled our First Responder to get to the emergency
much quicker.
2. Lisbon Communication Center has no one qualified to
establish an Emergency Medical Code (EMD) which is critical for the EMT’s. This EMC code tells the EMT’s the situation
on the ground before they leave to respond and to make sure they have all the
necessary medical equipment to provide the best service possible for the
victim. This would have provided better medical service to our people in
need.
3.
According to the
handout provided at the workshop, the cost saving was $191,095.00. This
is a reduction of approximately $200,000.00 a year in the operating cost of the
town. Now, the town still has
this cost and is going to be asking for additional funding to support the
operating of the town.
4.
SGT Moore could
return to the Police Department as a FULL time officer. Currently, SGT Moore is split between the
Lisbon Communication Center and the Police Department. Won’t
it be better to have additional officer to protect and serve the community?
5. By closing the Lisbon Communication Center, there
would be a cost saving because you no
longer would need Information Technology support.
6.
By closing the
Lisbon Communication Center, there is
no longer a need to update the communication Center equipment. By the way, whom do you think will have to pay
for the upgrades?
I believe that the four
Councilors that voted to keep the Lisbon Communication Center open did NOT have
the best interest of the community.
Also, they did not gather all the information necessary to make a
logical decision. During the workshop,
Chairman Ward stated he wanted to see what LA 911 and Brunswick would offer the
town and wanted to visit Androscoggin County Dispatch. He never did that but voted anyways. I guess this makes his word useless. Councilor Albert wanted to look into other
sources and he did not; so guess what his word is good for. DID
YOU KNOW THAT NOT ONE COUNCILOR VISITED THE ANDROSCOGGIN COUNTY DISPATCH TO
PERSONALLY REVIEW THE OPERATIONS! This
should have been done prior to a vote.
Of course if you have already been told how to vote, I guess it does not
any difference and is a waste of your time.
Councilor Brunelle, in my
opinion, has never had the interest of the town. Look back when he was in the middle of the
dispute between the School Department and the Town Council over the budget a
few years ago. That dispute cost the
TAXPAYERS a great deal of tax dollars between the legal fee and the
referendums. A Councilor is supposed to put the needs of the community before his
friend and neighbors (Good Old Boys).
This has never happened; if you don’t believe me check his voting
record.
Councilor Crafts does
whatever Councilor Brunelle tells him and Councilor Albert does whatever
Chairman Ward wants. These are not
Councilors; they are followers. These
four individuals did not gather all necessary information prior to voting so
how can they say that it is in the best interest of the community.
With this type of behavior, in three to five
years, our taxes will triple.
Larry Fillmore
![[Most Recent Quotes from www.kitco.com]](http://www.kitconet.com/images/sp_en_8.gif)
