Is Chief of Police, David T. Brooks Really Lisbon's Chief Executive Officer?

WHO WORKS FOR WHOM????

It is very apparent that members of the Town Council do not understand whom they work for or what is the “chain of command”.  So I will explain it to them:

The Town Council works for the people!

The Town Manager works for the Town Council!

The Department Heads work for the Town Manager!

Town Employees work for their respective Department Heads!

There are times that Councilors believe that they work for a Department Head and not the people.  This is obvious by their voting on certain issues especially when it comes to the budget.

The largest departmental budget belongs to the police department.  It is currently at $1,300,000.00 plus.  That is right, our police department costs taxpayers over $1.3 MILLION dollars.  So when it comes time to look at areas to cut the budget the first place to look for excessive spending would be in the largest expense area. 

Areas that would be looked at would be duplicated efforts such as two Detectives or three Secretaries (even if you call them by different names).  You would look for areas where you could wait another year before taking action such as replacing a vehicle you just replaced the engine last year because police vehicles are measured by the engine hours.  These are items that reside currently in the police budget which could easily be cut with minimal impact to the police department.  So why is it, that Chief Brooks, the Finance Committee and the Town Council cannot see or want to take this opportunity to help the citizens with their tax bills by making these cuts?

Why does Chairwoman Ward say that if the budget is not approved by the last day of July there will be a 7% increase in our taxes?  The Assessor cannot set the mil rate until there is an approved budget or commitment regardless of how long it takes.  What delaying the budget approval means is that the town will continue to operate on the Town Manager’s budget which is slightly higher?  So the Councilors have to weigh whether is it more important to give the people the best budget possible or settle for another year of an inflated budget with excessive spending by Chief Brooks?  I believe the people would appreciate it if this Council cut all the wasted spending in this year’s budget instead of putting it off for another year.

Chairwoman Ward has learned well from her mentor.  Fear and intimidation is a strategy for success; look how Chief Brooks has used it for years to get his way.

Larry Fillmore