Charter Changes in Layman's Terms

After receiving some great feedback from the citizens of Lisbon, we have decided to give you an overview of the proposed Town of Lisbon Charter changes in layman's terms to help you understand what the Town Council and Steve Eldridge, with the help of Roger Therriault (our town attorney), are trying to achieve. Everything that they are proposing directly benefits a few people to include Norma Wells, Mike Bowie, Steve Eldridge, Rosie Bradley, David Brooks, and Fern Larochelle. They have scheduled a public hearing on 9/2/08 of which we urge all citizens of Lisbon to attend so that you can let them know that we will not stand for these underhanded tactics.

Article 1. Grant of Power to the Town

They are proposing to add an entirely new section to this section of the charter that clearly dilineates the role of the Council vs Administration. They affirm that legislative powers are vested solely and exclusively with the Town Council. Any proposed changes to a Charter that highlights that an elected body has sole and exclusive anything is bad news. Had they added another line that included the fact that they would include the community in all elements of the legislative decision making that would make sense but THAT IS NOT THE CASE here.

They are also proposing a firm line of division between the administrative and legislative functions of the Town of Lisbon and that they will not get involved in the exercise of the administrative powers of the Town. Who does this benefit? Yup, Steve Eldridge. This is saying, "Steve, you can do whatever you want as long as it is within the guidelines of the legislation that we have passed as a Town Council and we can't do or say anything about the way you are conducting business. So, shut up Dale Crafts and don't tell Steve that he can't run the Recreation Department as he sees fit."