LOWER THAN DIRT

 

Last Tuesday night, I attended the sub-committee meeting hosted by Councilor Norman Albert and Councilor Mark Lunt pertaining to the situation with Lisbon Emergency Services.  The purpose of the meeting was to update the members of the sub-committee on the changes Lisbon Emergency had made to their By-Laws.  The meeting was conducted with no microphones or handouts so the members of the audience could not heard a lot of what was said and without a handout could not follow along.

I have been complaining about this situation for years but our Town leadership treats citizens as second class citizens.  What I mean is they do not care if the Public hear what is going on during these Public meetings.  I listen to Councilors complain that not many citizens take an interest in what is going on in town.  Well, when you are treated in this manner it is hard to maintain an interest when you cannot hear and no one cares.  Also, I have attended numerous briefing during my forty years working for the government and I never sat through a briefing that I could not hear everything said and I always had a handout in which to follow along.  At the end of classified briefings, the handouts were gathers back up and destroyed.

 

I have complained to our leadership on numerous occasions and they really do not care if they are professional or not.  This is just one of several reasons; I do not attend Town Council meetings.  If our leadership is not interested in what I have to say, then I am wasting my time attending.  Most of every Town Council meeting has been decided the outcome before the meeting so it is only a formality any ways.

 

Now, some can say that the By-Laws of Lisbon Emergency belong to Lisbon Emergency’s.  However, if the Town of Lisbon is hosting the meeting and Lisbon Emergency is asking for the taxpayers to supplement Lisbon Emergency; the taxpayers have a right to see the documents being discussed.  Just call me old fashion!  It is my personal opinion, that if you conduct a meeting in the town office and invite the Public; they should have handouts available to follow along.  If you do not want the people to attend and if you do not care if they hear or know what is going on; then stay out of our pockets to.  In other words, the citizens of Lisbon are being asked to pay for something but do not have a right to see and know what they are being forced pay for.

 

When is our leadership going to start treating its citizens like people, again?

 

Larry Fillmore