I recently stumbled on the Lisbon Reporter and I'm already a big fan.
It's quite refreshing to read the honest happenings of this town.
My
husband and I were both raised in Lisbon Falls and now we are raising
our 3 young children here as well. There are so many things I truly love
about Lisbon and it's those things that have kept me here. However,
there are other attributes of Lisbon that I'm not so fond of and I see
that many of the posts on this site mirror my own thoughts.
My
oldest child is a 7-year-old boy and he attends Lisbon Community
School. Naturally, this fact has given me a renewed interest in the
Lisbon School Department. As we all know, recently there was a vote
pertaining to the school's budget. It was a topic that I had mixed
emotions about. On one hand, I think the schools should have the money
they need to provide the next generation of Lisbon citizens with the
best possible education. On the other hand, my husband and I are in the
process of finding our first home and we've learned how expensive Lisbon
taxes already are and I certainly don't want to vote in favor of
anything that will increase our already heavy tax burden.
But
I don't feel as though those two routes should be my only options. Why
should I have to choose between voting for the schools to have the
money they need or vote to keep the taxes from increasing? With the high
tax rate we already endure, there is surely enough money for the
schools to get what they need.. or at least there should be.
This
lead me to the question, where are our tax dollars going? The answer
wasn't hard to find. It's quite obvious that the Lisbon PD is the
biggest financial drain of our tax dollars. For years, Lisbon's
excessive police force has been a joke. People say that we have one cop
per family. They say not to drive down 196 through Lisbon unless you
want to get pulled over. So on and so forth, everyone seems to agree
that Lisbon has an overabundance of police officers.
In
a town this size, with a meager crime rate, there is no need for a
force like ours. By cutting the PD budget, we could easily afford to
give our schools the money they need and fund the things that really
matter. What would we lose? The opportunity to fine every poor soul
going 30 mph in 25 mph zone?
Our schools and
other departments are constantly asked to prove themselves and beg for
every penny they get. In order to get what they deserve, there is tons
of paperwork, meetings, and voting that must take place. And then once
all the stars align, they may or may not receive their fair share of the
tax dollars. What's ironic is that I never see or hear of any of this
happening in regards to the police department. The citizens are never
asked or given the opportunity to vote on whether or not we want to hire
new officers, purchase new vehicles etc. My guess is it's because Chief
Brooks already knows how that would turn out.
My
parents both live in Lisbon as well and my father recently compared
Chief Brooks to Boss Hog in the Dukes of Hazzard. He said that Brooks is
crooked, manipulative and an overgrown bully. In his opinion, the
counsel is intimidated by Brooks and his tactics, which is why we are
never given the opportunity to vote for PD-related topics and why
everything Brooks wants, Brooks gets.
It's
time for the PD to be put in their place and for the money that is
frivolously thrown about by Brooks to be fairly distributed to the
school and other departments.
I'm very close
to some of the leaders in Lisbon, but clearly they aren't as concerned
with our children as they are with placating Brooks. I want to be
involved in the solution in whatever way possible.
Thank you for continuing to share the truth to Lisbon's residents.
Submitted by: ' Anonymous'
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