In the News: May 11, 2008
South Berwick residents act Monday on $265g to pay for snow cost …
Foster’s Daily Democrat
The town’s undesignated fund could take a major hit Monday night during a special town meeting when residents will decide whether to take out $265000 to cover overruns in the snow removal budget, the buyout of …
South Berwick could add recall regulations
Portsmouth Herald News
The town is taking steps toward allowing the recall of elected officials. A public informational hearing will be held Tuesday to discuss a referendum vote.
South Berwick neighbors concerned about backyard hive
Neighborhood residents are buzzing about the actions of a
Teens vandals turn to buglary, Eliot police say
Numerous teenagers will be facing misdemeanor and felony charges after residents aided a police investigation into multiple house and car burglaries.
Route 236 fire is extinguished
Eliot firefighters clean up after dousing a fire at Lin-Cor Environmental, LLC in
Tags: news
May 11th, 2008 at 10:53 am
Honey Bees make great neighbors! We just added several colonies where I work as part of our on going environmental initiatives. We are fortunate to have a professional bee keeper (in her spare time) as our financial controller. Our company has no direct connection to agriculture and we do not profit from our hives. We have even set up a picnic table near the hives so we can enjoy lunch as the honey bees are busy buzzing past. The biggest thing to fear about bees is that they are disappearing at an alarming rate. The ice-cream giant Haagan-Dazs has put together a great web site FMI (http://helpthehoneybees.com/)
May 11th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Welcome bees! I am sorry that the new beekeeper has to deal with such a reaction, but I appreciate that he has responded kindly and sensitively, while not giving in. Without bees, what would we eat? Perhaps the neighbor that doesn’t seem to know much about bees also doesn’t understand their importance to our food supply. As JB says above, bees make great neighbors! Throw out the welcome mat and hope you get a jar of honey!
May 11th, 2008 at 1:37 pm
My neighbor has a couple of hives. I have had zero problems with them over the past five years. I spend hours outside near the hives mowing, picking blackberries and apples, playing with my children, etc. I also have a severe allergic reaction to honeybee stings and still I fear my neighbors rooster more than the bees.
May 11th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
We had a hive in our yard when I was a kid, and our neighborhood was very residential. I don’t see any problems with one hive. What most people don’t realize is that the majority of the bees in a hive never leave the hive. Additionally, honey bees are not aggressive. From what I’ve read, Mr. Mueller is doing everything the right way, and has taken the time to be properly educated before doing this. I fully support his efforts, and I hope that some of the bees amke their way to my yard. My garden could use the help!
May 11th, 2008 at 4:57 pm
Furthermore, I don’t approve of the scare-tactic nature of the leaflet that I found left in my back door. “WARNING! YOUR BACKYARDS ARE IN DANGER!”……please, spare me.
May 11th, 2008 at 7:41 pm
We have had two beekeeping neighbors over the last 20 years. It’s been interesting, and we’ve had no problems with their honeybees.
We have had many problems with wasps nesting in our eaves and cinderblocks, and ground bees in our yards — but they are different creatures than the honeybees and they’ll continue to be all around us no matter how many ordinances we write.
Honeybees are seriously threatened, and our food supply would be in crisis without them. Support your local beekeeper!
May 12th, 2008 at 9:52 am
I guess bee keeping is just a little to rural for this rural community.
We only want the good part of rural, no bee keeping, or pig farms, or cattle farms, just rural enough with out the other distractions that go with it.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:38 am
I agree with you there. Awhile ago I wanted to keep bees (still do) because I want the local honey for allergy reasons. I also had the idea to keep one pig for food purposes. I was discouraged by well-meaning friends from going ahead with my plans due to what the ‘neighbors’ might say, plus the ’smell’ from the pig, etc. I think our economy is changing to the point that we may all have to do some sort of sustenance farming, whether it be vegetables, chickens, or farm animals-we may all be a little put out, but we’ll have to get used to it, and get on with it.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:47 am
LadyJane,
I really amazes me about how many people will push to keep the rural atmosphere, but complain about anything rural that people try to do.
My property is too small to look in to pigs or anything like that, but fortunately, I can have a small garden.
From what I understand, that’s how the golf course was approved.
The owner of the property basically said, either let me develop the land, or since it is zoned for farming, I’m putting in a pig farm.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:47 am
Town council meeting tonight. This should be exciting watching them defend the salary increases while the town can’t afford it even in its wildest dreams, and the mortgage crises grows worse. Also, I can not WAIT to hear why they feel compelled to provide town workers with health insurance better than the vast majority of the taxpayers could hope to afford. I can not wait.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:51 am
oh, and i forgot, it should also be interesting to see — now that we own the white elephant of a church — if anyone was responsible enough to get any estimates on the renovations/costs involved in holding it, or if they have been completely irresponsible, and completed the purchase with absolutely no idea of what it is going to cost us all.
Should be fascinating.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:14 am
KC,
I think if you look back in some of the newspaper articles from the Fosters, you ‘ll find that the council has decided to table any discussion on wages and benefits until they have replaced the town manager.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:38 am
i understand that. and i think it should be of interest to many that they have chosen to do this…..hoping that the issue is forgotten by the turn of the year, and they can simply just renew the policies rather than looking into something a bit cheaper.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:59 am
I won’t be able to make it to the meeting, but I still think that the town should consider self-insuring. They should at least inquire with the company that administers the health plan.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
Just as an FYI, the warrant articles for SAD35 are posted on the MSAD35 website.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:22 pm
It makes you wonder.
Since it’s not been brought up before, have they even shopped around in the past for a cheaper plan?
I know my company does.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:35 pm
Well, if you are going to shop a group plan, you don’t wait until the expiration of the current one. Six months ahead of the anticipated renewal, you contact potential bidders, and you have them each come in and present their plan. Then you sit down, like grown up, responsible people do, and review each plan, find the best of the lot, negotiate a few points, and then, start lining things up for the turnover on the expiration of the current plan.
That’s the way a real business does things. That’s what the town should be doing. Not tabling it until its too late to do anything other than renew.
This is like a joke, the way things are being run financially.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:37 pm
An intelligent responsible business person would have also done a complete plan on what it is going to cost to hold on, renovate, and open up the Church……
did they do even a minimalist projection?
And, I understand that there is one council member who calls himself a “financial advisor”…..do we know exactly what kind of experience he has or where he works?
May 12th, 2008 at 12:46 pm
I notice on the school warrants that they make no mention of the laptops they want to buy for school board members.
May 12th, 2008 at 12:58 pm
Well….I certainly hope that they are top of the line computers, hooked up to 24/7 satellite web access and with the very best graphics cards available. Nothing is too good for our school board members!!! After all, I hear that NASA gives its employees computers like this, and our school board members should be comparably equipped!
May 12th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
They’ll need at least that in order to keep up with their emails.
May 12th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
Email???????????????? You mean we haven’t bought them top of the line blackberries with the full zillion dollar minute plan yet????
What’s wrong with us?
May 12th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Great! We have new Council- School Board in the Makings. KC your the one to vote for Iam sure you will rule soon!!!!!!
May 12th, 2008 at 2:50 pm
after seeing what i see…i want to move. i’m really sorry i got on this bus, that’s for damn sure.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
How are they justifying purchasing laptops for school board members? Why should we be paying for equipment for volunteers? I find that outrageous.
May 12th, 2008 at 3:16 pm
All I know is that the budget overview that is available from the SAD 35 offices states one of the items on the budget is new laptops for the School Board members.
First off, do they already have laptops?
If so, why are these not sufficient?
If not, why the sudden need?
If needed, why not take some of the laptops the school is upgrading from that were part of the states laptop program, and we already paid for?
Will they be used for other than school business?
How can we tell if they are used for personal business?
May 12th, 2008 at 3:35 pm
I almost forgot,
In the warrant articles, they make this statement.
Because of the importance we place on students and staff learning to use
technology, we spend more on technology than the EPS formula requires.
http://www.msad35.net/board/FY09%20Warrant%20%20Articles.pdf
Why do we need to spend more than is required when we need to keep costs down”
May 12th, 2008 at 3:38 pm
they need to spend more because they can >> they are dealing with OPM funds…other people’s money. so it doesn’t matter. besides, new laptops are totally cool. they should make sure they get the ones with the $400 video cards so their kids can play Grand Theft Auto.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:24 pm
When I started this site I made the decision to allow people to comment freely and made a decision that I would not delete or censor comments that I don’t agree with. I have followed that and plan to continue, even though sometimes it is painful. Based on the comments on this thread, I do want to make it clear that often comments made on this blog do not reflect my opinions or reflect the philosophy of the site.
We should question expenditures and ask paid staff and volunteers boards to justify their budgets. And we should voice our opinions when we disagree with something. However, I believe baseless accusations and unsubstantiated assertions of bad motives are harmful to civil society and are barriers to working together to real solutions to problems that we share as a town. KC, I take issue with your assertion that board members or town councilors are wantonly spending money and making decisions without regard for taxpayers. That is not my opinion nor have I seen any evidence of the factuality of that assertion. I think it is unfair to school board members, town councilors, to our town, and to this site to make vituperative remarks like that. If you have opinions, state them as such. If you want to assert something as fact, back it up with evidence.
May 12th, 2008 at 4:54 pm
Molly, I am sorry if I’ve offended you, but frankly, i am mightily offended by the irresponsibility of some of the Town Council’s actions regarding spending over the past year. At some point, it is not good enough to say that they are good people who are trying their best.
When you take a seat on the council or on the school board, you have a fiduciary responsibility. If a major expense looms, you should get estimates. You should always weigh your ability to pay and not attempt to compete with irrelevancies — what another town pays its employees is an irrelevancy. We can not afford to match salaries paid by more flush towns.
You should not let overexcitement/buyers’ lust overcome plain, simple reason and sanity — and you should, when taking on a project that will involved extensive costs, get estimates, make projections.
My anger is simply that the Town Council’s actions are going to cause a good many of us a lot of suffering over the coming year. What’s not clear is that they have any understanding of this whatsoever. No, they simply push on……..and keep the salary increases in the budget, table the insurance situation, and now, hold building that no one has the slightest idea of what it will cost to make it a functioning part of the town.
Some of us, Molly, are going to get angry as we are asked for the bill for this.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:01 pm
And you are welcome to express your opinions and your anger on this blog like you did just now. In this last comment you explained your position and said what you believe in a civil way. That’s what I ask of participants on this blog. Thank you.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
Oh, by the way, you really can’t justify new laptops for the School Board. Don’t try to stand on that one Molly. That equipment is ubiquitous and critical to functioning in today’s world, that members shouldn’t really be on the board if they don’t have a computer. I’d be all for buying them any sort of educational software they might need to stay current — but a new computer? Come on……should we buy them phones too if they take some calls about the Schools on their lines? Rather than simply paying part of their monthly bills?
May 12th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
KC-You don’t know where I stand on laptops for school board members. Nor do I. I don’t have enough information about the issue. I like to get information before I take a stand on something.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:17 pm
And, Molly, you know….I’ll be honest, when people do deal with multi-million dollar budgets….they do detach it from the people who paid in at a certain point. It just happens. There’s a lot of money, and its very hard to keep in mind that it came out of someone’s hide. You see it in bulk….and it is very easy to let a little bit go here, and a little bit there. If you’re in over your head, which clearly some of the Town Council is, you can have it all dribble away in little stuff.
That’s what’s so infuriating. They have taken on a fiduciary responsibility….and if they are over their heads, they should come out and say so. That is the responsible thing to do. Not to wave around some list of what other towns pay their employees and say we have to be comparable. Or to table the insurance situation because no one is capable or prepared to get into the minutae of selecting a new insurance plan.
That’s the responsible thing to do — 10K can get you a consultant who will know how to deal with selecting a health plan, or evaluating the salary situation. And it can be 10K spent that will save the town hundreds of thousands of dollars over time.
If they’d only have hired an independent consultant on the Church situation, we wouldn’t be stuck now.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:19 pm
Molly,
Unless they plan to compete with NASA in launching satellites, I think that their basic home computers are capable of connecting with the internet, and running Excel/Word. I’d pay for their internet access, but not buying them all new computers. Not when the kids don’t have enough computers.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:22 pm
I agree, but I will say I have found it difficult to get information as to what is specifically in the budget. I find it hard not to be overly skeptical and critical when I feel like I’m not able to get all the info.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
Sorry, that was a response to Molly, but I was too slow.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
I had to have my Mother in law stop by the SAD 35 offices to pick up the copy they were passing out.
It was just a high level overview, but the first item in that list was laptops for the school board.
I looked through the currently posted budget, but don’t see a breakdown anywhere.
It may be that they already voted to remove them, but it would be nice to see that kind of update.
It also may be they they are lumped under the supplies section of the school board portion of the budget.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:39 pm
The question about laptops is legitimate. I would want to have the questions that Dave W. (not-ex) posed answered before I decided what I think about the issue. The budget process for both the SAD and the town is difficult and I think the timeline makes it impossible to get good information. As citizens we are in the dark about some of the decisions. That’s why I wish we had public access television so people could watch all the school board meetings and town council meetings. So much of what goes into the budgets gets decided during regular meetings and unless you go to every meeting or read through the minutes of every meeting you will never know why decisions were made.
May 12th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
Is there any chance there are grants for such things? That would be great if the meetings could be televised.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:27 pm
Hi everyone
thanks for the support on my bees, somewhere the comments went away from the article on bees.
KC please don’t forget that the council seated now was not responsible for the fiscal calamity we are in now, ask J. Grossman, he might have some answers. Oh by the way he has immunity for all his actions as town manager.
Great all Warrants turned down now what? you gonna shovel my sidewalk snow next winter, or maybe even the road in front of your house, that there is a need to find ways to reduce costs yes, but what about the costs incurred?
Maybe we should not pay R. Orsini for her taking on the Interim Manager job.
The present council has cut the budget to the bare bones and it is lower than the 2007 budget.
Now what?
May 12th, 2008 at 10:34 pm
George- Bees are peaceable neighbors in towns and cities all over the world. I would hate to think that traditional agriculture will get squeezed out of South Berwick.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:39 pm
ladyjane-South Berwick is in negotiations with Comcast. Some towns have made public access tv a condition of the contract. South Berwick chose not to push for that so it doesn’t look like it’s in the near future. Last I knew there was recording equipment in the town budget that would make it possible to podcast town meetings. Not video, but it would allow people to at least hear what goes on. I don’t know if that item made it through the budget cuts though.
May 12th, 2008 at 10:57 pm
George, I was there tonight too, and came away with several reactions, among them being slightly appalled.
Clearly, when the former town manager said maybe the town might want to start thinking about buying out his contract, the group panicked, and moved into closed session. During that session, it appears that they employed the services of a slightly less than competent attorney, if indeed he was as bad a manager as it appears he was. They should have calmed down, and then hired an attorney who has some expertise in employment contracts. Such an attorney would have been able to contain the situation — no employment contract demands a payout when an employee is fired for incompetence or malfeasance. Looking at the rubble left behind, it is unreal that the Town is not only paying out the contract, but also paying the attorney who “negotiated” this wondrous deal 15K. And also signed a confidentially agreement so the guy is free to move on and do whatever he did somewhere else.
As far as the snow situation goes, to me it was very clear that the group of sub-contractors were aware of the fact that the town’s management was in complete disarray throughout much of Jan, Feb & March, and they took advantage. Like everyone, they needed the cash and saw an opportunity. I wouldn’t worry about next winter……they know what they did, and know it was a one time wonderful opportunity. Its amazing to me that they hustled this to 2x-3x what Berwick & North Berwick paid, but hey…..they did. Our bad for not keeping a tighter handle on what was going on at town hall, and sub contractors during the period.
Anyway, the thing about paying Roberta, that was just the spin put on at the end when the article failed. The 100K is gone, there’s 73K left allotted for the Town Manager’s salary, so Roberta is going to be paid.
As far as now what….its time to consider that things have reached such a pass that some serious expertise in financial control is needed. From what i understand, while the budget has been “cut to the bone”, the Town employees are still going to be given substantial raises. This is beyond the pale given the economic environment & the town’s situation. A serious financial controller would point out that you do not hand out substantial raises based on information provided by the employees’ association. You pay on what you can afford. You also assess the economic environment and recognize that you would probably have a line stretching out the door of qualified people more than ready to take the jobs at the current pay…..simply because they would get a raise with the job in that they would not have to pay the costs of gas to get over to Portsmouth …..
You’d also have someone looking at new insurance opportunities …..
I’m fixated on these as they seem to be indicative of the level of expertise currently being employed…..you could probably work your way thru the budget top to bottom and find situations that could be more efficiently managed in every one.
Its going to be an interesting couple of months ahead. Like I said before, the people sitting on the Council seem to be very nice, they clearly are doing the best that they can in a very difficult situation, but sometimes, the very smartest thing to do is to come out and admit you are in way over your head.
May 12th, 2008 at 11:06 pm
Oh, and I did admire the move to create the position of Assistant Town Manager…it is going to be hard for Roberta to go back to being an administrative assistant after being the Interim Town Manager. Actually a good move on the part of the Council.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:44 am
George,
From what I heard at the meeting, the warrants will have to be brought up again.
The other thing I heard is that if the total amount is not voted in, then the auditor will force the issue.
That being said, I was very disappointed in the apparently arranged adjournment of the special session to close off any further discussion last night.
I also said last night, that the warrant articles, with the exception of the snow removal, were not clear in what the money was covering.
Just stating that they were over budget does not give me enough information to make an informed decision on that action.
KC does have somewhat of a valid point on part of this.
THe ex manager had 3 months left on this current fiscal year.
We had to pay 9 months severance (nice if you can get it?
If his full slary for this year was not fully expended, then we should only have had to cover an extra 6 months of the 9 months severance from the town managers budget.
That money will have to come from somewhere.
As far as Mrs Orsini goes, She is now the interim manager, and should be paid as such.
The question in my mind is this.
Since her salary as Exectutive Assistant, plus her salary in the Administrative group were already budgeted, could that money be used as well as money from the undesignated fund to cover her salary in her current position to the end of the fiscal year?
What bothers me the most is this.
When the council decided to pursue the removal of the Town Manager, and the agreement was made, the council insisted that the buy out was not going to come from the undesignated fund.
What happened?
They pulled the money from the Town Managers budget and are now trying to replace it from the undesignated fund.
No matter how you shuffle it, the money to pay for the buy out is coming from the undesignated fund.
People may not like it, and they may not like the fact that it costs $15,000 for the legal fees, but that money has already been spent, and we now have to pay the bill.
My only question is the actual amount needed to go into the Managers budget, it doesn’t add up to me to be $100,000 if we still had 3 months of the current fiscal years salary to go.
May 13th, 2008 at 8:58 am
Dave….
A more experienced group of managers would have assessed the situation, and then, gone out and found an experienced attorney to represent them & the Town in the negotiations.
They would have immediately put the Town Manager on paid administrative leave.
They would have met with this lawyer and developed a plan regarding the Town Manager’s departure.
Which would have happened over a couple of weeks. NOt in a huff, with Town Hall closing for a couple of days, etc.
Clearly here, the group panicked, called in some bud of a lawyer, and proceeded with all due haste to make some very costly and hasty decisions.
Again, what this shows is a complete lack of really detailed plannning. Every decision seems to be being made on an ad hoc basis >> termination of the Town Manager, purchase of the Church, tabling the insurance situation until the current policies are on the verge of expiration so there are no alternatives to renewal.
Someone needs to sit this group down and talk about the value of doing some serious detailed looking ahead…..not only at situations we know we will face, but also, at the various opportunities to save money.
The most expensive way to make decisions is to make them in the heat of the action, and that’s what we are doing now. Time and time again.
As a kick off to turning over a new leaf, I would suggest, that now that we own the white elephant of a Church, we actually develop some projections….three plans 1) what it will cost to turn this building into a library 2) what it will cost to turn it into a community center 3) and what it will cost to maintain this building for the three or four years while we hold it before we have the cash to do anything with it.
That way, we will know the cost and have a fighting chance to met it, and not end up taking a massive loss when — faced with the “unanticipated bills” and in a panic — the Town Council acknowledges the mistake and firesales the property.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:30 am
KC,
You may be right on how they should have handled it.
The point is, they didn’t
We now have no choice but to pay that bill.
Complaining about it won’t change things unless it is done in the correct forum with suggestions as to how to handle future issues.
It is my hope, and I will be bringing this up at the next meeting,
that they focus on hiring someone who can do the job well, at a salary the town can afford.
It seems that there is a belief that if they offer a high enough salary, only the best will apply.
That is patently false.
I wasn’t invloved in town meetings when the last town manager was hired.
Some people thought he did a good job, some people didn’t.
What is clear is that some of the people who were involved in the hiring process have had second thoughts about that manager.
Since we are now moving forward, we can only hope that the vetting process for the new town manager focus more on actual ability.
Personally, from the job being done currently, I would not mind at all if Mrs Orsini was offered the job on a permanent basis
She seems more than competent, and as a resident, she has an interest in the town running well.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:36 am
I actually would back Roberta for the job. Unfortunately, because the town simply can’t afford it, she can’t be paid the salary that the previous manager got. I hope this actually sinks into the Council. They overpaid and got their heads handed to them. Now they have to pay a salary the town can afford…..and possibly as the town’s situation improves, Roberta’s salary could be increased.
I do hope that political correctness doesn’t rule here, and we end up paying the same over-inflated salary because that is what the man was paid………
two wrongs do not make a right.
and i agree that this is where we are and we have to deal with the sitaution. My point is….LET”S LEARN FROM IT. LET”S NOT REPEAT THE SAME DISASTROUS MISTAKES.
May 13th, 2008 at 9:48 am
KC,
I agree. This is something we and the council should learn from.
What we need to have happen however is for people with ideas to come forward at the town meetings and offer them.
I don’t know if any of the councilors read this blog or not, but even if they do, the best way to make suggestions and bring up issues is at the town meetings and school board meetings.
If we just sit back on our porches and complain, no one else will ever know our concerns or ideas.
I wouldn’t be too sure that the next manager won’t be offered the same salary, but I would hope that the council would try to negotiate in good faith, with perhaps some future incentives.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:07 am
I’m not particularly interested in standing up in front of everyone calling out the Town Council. Moreover, I’m not getting the feeling that too many people are all that interested in doing the down & dirty detail work of developing projection & making estimates & sitting thru insurance presentations & telling the town employees NO you can’t have big raises, & NO we are not going to fund your insurance 100% any more. There’s a very real reluctance to acknowledge the trouble the town is in. Which is going to make the situation all the more painful when they are forced to curtail the budget to truly bare bones in the coming years.
So…..I don’t know what to do…other than to vent frustration here….and hope that some sense of what I am saying seeps into the sub conscious of one or two of them.
and they do read this blog. Some obsessively.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:31 am
Well,
For your information, the point was raised last night by the council chair about the employees benefits.
They have been doing some checking and found that Eliot does not provide the same benefits, and the emplyees have to pay 20% of all health insurance costs, not just dependants.
Since this was raised by several people at one of the council meetings, then they apparently are listening.
AS far as teh raises go, I agree they should not be providing both a cola and a merit raise to all employees every year.
That being said, this year’s cola is 2.5% which is far from a BIG raise
There are several people, myself included who are asking these questions at the town meetings, and have done so before I ever started posting here.
As far as the sitting through insurance presentations and developing projections, that is not the task any one is asking of you.
What I am asking of you and everone else, is that you raise your concerns
in the formal environment of a town meeting.
If you have ideas on how to develop the church property, get involved in some of the commitees.
If you have concerns about how the budget money is being spent, attend the meetings and budget workshops and make suggestions, or express your concerns.
I say this, because quite frankly, if you aren’t willing to take part in getting the town back on its feet, and helping to control costs and well as improve the overall situation, then your complaints carry alot less weight.
It’s easy to say some one else should do this and that, and complain when it isn’t done the way you would like.
Take the path less traveled and try to make a difference where it counts.
May 13th, 2008 at 10:42 am
dave….I am more than willing to take on any task, and would be more than willing to be a part of any committee that is open to volunteers. what i do not want to do is get up at the town meeting and speak to council in front of the world. their actions have been…well, not so hot……and there’s no need to put people on the defensive publicly.
As far as listening to the people….i’m not so sure about that. There was certainly talk at the last meeting about the salary and insurance situation, and yet, after they had sharpened their pencils, the dust settled, and the “revised” budget was presented, the salary & insurance allocations were still there.
In short, you can talk and volunteer all you want, unless this Town Council gets some spine & the willingness to say NO, nothing will change. Frankly, I think the Church purchase is a prime example of this.
It was, flat out, a bad deal. The property didn’t even assess for what the Town paid for it….so it can’t be insured at the purchase price unless we paid exhorbitant rates. No one has — to date — done any detailed planning for the renovations or even put together estimates on what just holding the property will cost for the next several years. But, the money had been raised for the purchase. There was a vocal group pushing to buy the property at any cost……
and so, terrible deal/no real planning or estimates, it went ahead. No one on the Council had the guts to stand up and say NO, it is a bad deal at this price. Even more importantly, we can’t afford it now.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:02 am
KC,
You’re right, the benefits have not changed for this budget, but what about the next one?
When something has momentum it is difficult to change the direction but not impossible.
You may not see the results as soon as you would like, but if enough people get involved, there will be change.
From what I can see, the past several years we have been over budget, but the money was pulled from the undesignated fund to make up for it.
Now we are seeing the result.
A drastic increase instead of several smaller stepped increases.
There are things that can still be cut, and possibly things that can be done to save additional costs.
Some of the salary increases you are talking about were due to Union contracts, some were not.
Some of the budget items are going to come out as being underfunded by this time next year.
The other Dave Webster spoke last night about how Berwick and North Berwick did not exceed their snow budget by as much as we did.
The question is, how much did they budget for initially?
Did they budget an additional $150,000 that we did not budget for?
Is our current budgeted amount for next winters snow removal going to be adequate, or will we be over budget again because we wanted to keep costs down?
The employee raises wouldn’t be sufficient to cover $250,000 of overage.
As far as the church goes, that will have an impact on parking in town, something we are severely lacking.
With additional parking alone, that can help increase business down town, which can provide incentive for other businesses.
There are also several parts to the property, not just the church itself.
Some of this can possibly be used to provide additional income.
The purchase also provides a safer means of routing school buses which will make it less congested for traffic, and safer for the kids.
I also disagreed with the purchase of the property at this time.
Since we now have it, we need to make it work.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:15 am
I’d be real careful about encouraging buses to turn in there, or trucks before we have an engineer comb that property…..there was a sign in the lot a few weeks back that said No Trucks or turning, or something like that.
So something maybe lurking under the parking lot that is structurally problematic………again, some forward thinking here. Before we are slammed with a multi-million dollar injury lawsuit…..get the place surveyed and inspected by some engineers & find out what is structurally sound and what isn’t.
as far as Berwick/North Berwick goes…come on. I didn’t just fall off the turnip truck and neither did you. There was literally chaos at town hall & no one in the clear position of authority to order or halt “additional” plow runs. So….the plow guys …well, they seized the opportunity, and I don’t blame them at all……it was our bad, our disorganization and our situation that created the possibility for them to “meet and exceed” our plowing expectations.
It isn’t going to happen again next year if we have the lines of authority clearly defined. If we don’t, well….its going to be on us again.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:16 am
Oh, and I should say about the engineers…in the spirit of turning over a new leaf, we don’t hire someone’s cousin. WE BID THE JOB. Like a real business.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:26 am
Just another opinion - The church property, because of location and size, holds great promise for a more vital and accessible downtown. The potential outweighs the cost - and though it would be great if the plan for the property could have come first - the Council was wise in acquiring it. It will take imagination to capitalize on it, but I think the town has plenty of that. And, there are grants available for putting imagination into action - especially the kind of action that has the potential to foster a more sustainable economy.
The downtown is the most promising honeypot for the town. (George, that last line was for your bees ! Buzz on.)
May 13th, 2008 at 11:29 am
Given that there’s no real assessment yet of what it is going to cost to capitalize on that promise, or even more than a vague outline of a plan on how to use the structure, it may end up costing a great deal more than it ever benefits the town, Jane.
The point is, we don’t know. We haven’t got a clue, and we have no money right now to even find out.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:34 am
Well KC,
Since I don’t have Berwick and North Berwicks budget numbers yet, I can only guess.
I have been in contact with a friend from Berwick about their snow removal, and for information on how much was budgeted for last year.
I’m going to do the same for North and South Berwick.
Until I get all the information and can make an informed opinion, I’m not going to throw stones at anyone.
I too believe that something can be done about the frequency of the plowing, and when it is done, as well as the sidewalk clearing.
To be perfectly honest, this is the first town I’ve lived in where the resident is not responsible for clearing their own sidewalk.
If we want that kind of service, there is a price to pay.
When I was in the Navy, we had all kind of treats and special events near the end of each quarter because if the quarterly budget was not depleted, then the next quarter, we got less money.
Are we doing the same with the snow removal budget?
2006/2007 we didn’t need much so lets cut the amount to meet what we used?
I don’t know, but I’m going to try to find out before I start blaming everyone.
As far as the engineers go, I don’t know everyone’s geneology, so I’m not going to start that game either.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:39 am
Dave….I’m not throwing stone. I’m just talking reality. And with regard to an engineer, again, reality. The reflex action of most people is to pick up the phone and call an engineer they know. We should have a firm policy in place to bid jobs. Not panic or reflex hiring. That alone can save money.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:41 am
JaneCF-Thanks for weighing in with an opinion that many others share. The purchase of the St. Michael’s property was a farsighted decision. I am very happy that the council didn’t forget about planning for the future in the midst of out current difficulties.
May 13th, 2008 at 11:49 am
Molly/Jane…..
With all due respect, I think that your posts truly do demonstrate the absolute total reluctance to acknowledge precisely how deep a hole the town is in. And how unlikely the situation is to get any better over the next two to three years. Moreover, the thing that no one seems to want to grasp in any way is how devastating laying higher taxes on an already teetering local economy will be.
We need to do this…..and very, very quickly before the Town Council’s action start triggering a round of foreclosures. And, they will. That’s the scary part that anyone who understand the mechanics of the economy & the mortgage-subprime- and looming Alt A mortgage situation will admit. They will.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
With all due respect KC–I am quite involved in the town. I attend many meetings in the town to learn about what is going on. I have done much research on decisions that were made in the past and tracked them to their fruition now. I have sought the opinions from a wide variety of people in town and outside of town about the issues. I am a voracious reader of news and analysis of all stripes. My work brings me in contact with all kinds of community projects and initiatives and allows me to work with a variety of truly talented and educated people from whom I have had the opportunity to learn about how to solve problems. I have quite a good understanding of finances and budgets. While I agree these are tough times and will get worse, my conclusions about how we can get through them are quite different than yours.
Frankly I’m a little tired of you jumping to conclusions about people’s motives and then writing accusation in a public forum like this and questioning people’s ability to understand when they don’t agree with you. I’m sorry that you feel so fearful about the future but I don’t accept that the way to deal with it is to run around like our hair is on fire trying to stir up high emotion and urging people to make irrational short sighted reactionary decisions.
If you would like to convince people of your way of thinking, I would advise you to present reasoned opinions with facts to back them up and stop calling people names who don’t do or think what you want them to.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:21 pm
I don’t believe that just because people are hesitant or reluctant to endorse the purchase of St. Michael’s that they are any less ‘farsighted’. I will speak for myself - I think we need a new library space. I think this purchase is a huge mistake. And I don’t know what anyone means when they say this will be a great asset to the town. If it is, in fact, only a library it will be a library. If it is destined to become a center of commerce for the town, how much can really be generated from that one spot? And I can’t believe residents would be happy about paying $800,000 simply to park or have a bus turnaround. I firmly believe in looking toward and planning for the future, but I don’t share the same ideas about what that means.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
Molly,
Nowhere has anyone called anyone a name. And, frankly, I haven’t been jumping on anyone. Simply presenting an alternative view.
And I think that some people find it incredibly difficult to be confronted when the spin doesn’t work any more.
And the spin is stopping now. The point is to recognize it.
As far as presenting facts, well, a few weeks back, I went thru an entire scenario with numbers & stats to back up all the assertions…..and no one wanted to hear it. I think one response was “that isn’t true”….
I’m sorry you find it difficult, but….reality is reality. the bottomline is the bottomline.
May 13th, 2008 at 12:45 pm
But, since you say we should just talk facts, let’s…..in another month, many of us here in town will have the option of signing in for a fixed price for heating oil for the winter ahead. Today, heating oil is 3.97 a gallon. last year this time, it was 2.57. So a family that uses 1200 gallons over the course of a winter may be paying $4794 over the coming winter versus $3084 last year. Almost $1700 more.
That’s if the family antes up now, and puts down half the cash to sign in. If they opt to pay as they go, they could pay more, or less for the oil over the winter. Paying as you go is problematic, tho, as oil futures now are saying that we could be paying as much as 150- per barrel by Christmas.
Now gas is a similar situation. This year, its 3.75, last year, it was 2.70.
So, there are major price increases there.
Put that together with the current increases in food costs….
One more thing, some 85% of the people in this country are living paycheck to paycheck. Our savings rate is negative.
And so, to this, the town is coming into the mix now and anticipating a major tax increase.
My question to you is, what do you think will happen? Do you think that this is a moment when perhaps, just perhaps, it might be a very good idea to scrutinize literally every line of the budget and squeeze it till it screams for the sake of supporting our neighbors?
May 13th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
KC-In my research about how to run a blog I read about people who dominate the discussion and bully other people. They have a chilling effect on civil discussion on a blog. The advice that everyone who runs a successful blog is “Don’t feed the trolls.”
I am going to respond to you one more time with quotes from your posts where you did call people names and make accusations about their motives:
About a town councilor:
“And, I understand that there is one council member who calls himself a “financial advisor”…..do we know exactly what kind of experience he has or where he works?”
About the town’s attorney:
“Clearly here, the group panicked, called in some bud of a lawyer, and proceeded with all due haste to make some very costly and hasty decisions.”
About the school board:
“they need to spend more because they can >> they are dealing with OPM funds…other people’s money. so it doesn’t matter. besides, new laptops are totally cool. they should make sure they get the ones with the $400 video cards so their kids can play Grand Theft Auto”
That kind of rhetoric is unacceptable here.
KC-I would encourage you to start you own blog where you can be free to say what you want in the way that you want to say it. https://www.blogger.com/start offers a free and easy blogging service. I do not find you helpful to the discussion here. There are lots of other people who participate who hold some of the same opinions as yours but they do it in ways that promote discussion and dialog. I have heard from many in the community who refrain from participating because of the inflammatory and accusatory discussion that happens here. Unless you drastically change your tone and the way you express yourself you will no longer be welcome here and I will block you from participating.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
Molly — what you may not know is that you or I or anyone can hang out a shingle & call ourselves a financial advisor. Can we ask what this man’s credentials are? Or is a simple request for info not allowed?
What’s wrong with commenting on the Council’s actions when the Town Manager was dismissed? We are getting nothing, and got nothing last night about exactly what went on and that it will cost us 115K. So we’re not allowed to comment about this on the blog where we are discussing town affairs?
And I admit the Grand Theft Auto comment was flippant. Sorry I meant to be funny.
Clearly, you have a problem when people disagree wtih your stance. There is no name calling on my part. I am simply disagreeing and asking questions.
What’s more, while you think I am a horrible person with a very dark view of the future, nothing could be further from the truth…….the truth is, I understand how in the heat of the moment, the Church got bought. We have all lived in a “get it now/buy it now/ have it now” credit economy for years. Couple this with a red hot real estate market & the constant PR about “if you don’t buy it now, you’ll pay more for it next year”, and you’ve got people feeling that had to snatch Church up….at any price.
The problem is….the merry go round stopped….and with a thud. The constructive thing to do is not to block discussion of those who do want to face reality.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:21 pm
Molly, Thanks for that message to KC. I am one of those that quit posting because of one hysterical rant after another; that dominated the utility of this fine forum.
May 13th, 2008 at 1:24 pm
KC-I have no idea what kind of psychology you have; but take the message. Put a lid on it.
May 13th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
I agree.
Whenever I see KC’s posts know, I cringe. I know its just going to be more of the same re-hashed rhetoric.
I’d like to se some fresh comments….it was my understanding that the writer’s strike was over.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
KC
In Nov. of 2005 I put in $2000 worth of blown in insulation in the attic, my house was built in 1870, I saved one third on heating costs that winter, $600.
The price of Propane was around $2 at the time. my investment was paid off in two years, with prices going up and up, I was locked in at $2.55 for 2007-o8
I put in a solar collector system 5 years ago and make domestic hot water from the sun for about 6 months of the year.
last spring I put in more collectors connected to my heating loop, I have not had my last topping off, but I figure another 80 gallons less than last year. I walk alot in town and I have a Soapstone oven. I keep my thermostat at 68 degrees. I also drive a Prius.
I have a garden that supplies me with veggies in the summer,not to forget the bees etc.etc.
There are ways to reduce costs, it may mean a challenging lifestyle change.
In Sandwich NH there is a cooperative that buys en bulk and helps to install solar hot water systems, in the tradition of barn raising, neighbor helps neighbor.
The State of Maine has a rebate system, plus the federal tax credits.
Gas prices will not come down oil is getting scarcer, people are driving cars that get less than 20 miles a gallon, and on and on .
There are ways to save, as I said before everyone has to go out and do it.
George
May 13th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
Knock Knock.
Who’s there..
Killer Bees
OK, Come on in!
Bellushi still makes me laugh
May 13th, 2008 at 5:23 pm
George — if only the rest of the world were as prepared. If only.
May 13th, 2008 at 5:26 pm
Dave
Killer Bees cannot exist this far north, too cold, the last knock may by them yet the way we are changing the environment.
Come on over and see the bees anytime.
George
May 13th, 2008 at 5:30 pm
George,
I apologize if you took that the wrong way. I have no problem with your having a bee hive.
Your last post just reminded my of what was said last night, which reminded me of the old SNL skit.
If I remember correctly, they also did one about land sharks.
May 13th, 2008 at 7:24 pm
`Dave E W I thought your comment last night about spending money without any explanations was right on the money. Please talk to your friends about how much was spent for winter maintenance I talked to the town manager Duane Morin in North Berwick and to John St.Pierre Berwicks engineer/planner They both said that they had budgeted about the same as South Berwick if not a little less Sometimes it is so hard to calculate what is budgeted because money gets put in and pulled out from other accounts. I did’nt mention it last night but Dover N.H. budgeted $250,000 for winter maintenance for 132 miles of road and only over spent $235,000 , less than S.B., and they have a lot more clean-up than S.B. As far as the sub contractors taking advantage of the chaos in town hall J Grossman had a hands off policy regarding his department heads so any extra plowing by the subs probably had Terry Olivers blessing. As far as Roberta becoming our full time manager she’s worked with the town hall staff for a number of years building frienships. For her to act as their boss and try to make decisions about their health benefits, wages, etc. might put her in a sticky situation. I do think she has done an admirable job as interim
May 14th, 2008 at 2:47 pm
Dave
I did not take the knock knock joke the wrong way.
but I guess I did go too straight on the answer to your posting. I remember the joke on SNL.
George
May 14th, 2008 at 3:25 pm
No problem George,
I just wanted to make sure my joke didn’t upset you.
I know you are not having fun right now because of the fuss your neighbors are raising.
May 14th, 2008 at 9:05 pm
something from my post a few days ago about fiddlehead ferns. I bought some at our new market, Nature’s Place for $4.99/lb that is a real good price, I have heard they are over $6.00/lb at fiddlehead market in Dover.
we all need to support our local businesses as well.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:13 am
In this blog, I have read a variety of opinions about the last manager and his resignation. Above is an interesting comment about a hands off management style which might explain some of our issues we are facing today. If we have had a hands off management style for 4 years, then department heads who are responsible for advocating for their department needs and desires have had a loose reign over their spending. Ultimately, everyone from the manager, to the council and to the people at town meeting share the responsibility for this. Once salaries grow, they do not get reduced. This town paid the former manager vey well. Maine Municipal Association has a survey which shows comparative pay for town managers in 2007 (so I think it is a couple years old) South Berwick is listed paying their manager $100,300 (In the current budget it is ~ $103K). South Berwick also added 25% of the salary in retirement benefits plus car and cell phone for another $6K/year. Berwick is listed at $74,977. North Berwick is listed at $80,695. Kittery is listed at $88,273. Kennebunk is listed at $87,000. Sanford at $98,382 and Biddeford at $101,000. Sanford and Biddeford have much bigger populations and larger governments as they have water, sewer and school as town departments. We do not know their benefit packages. Dave Webster (not the ex-councilor) pointed out that paying more for a manager does not always buy the best performance. A couple of weeks ago there was a lot on the blog about the undesignated balance and how it has dropped over the last four years from around $2M to around $975 K. Who did we pay to provide us with advice on what we can and should take from the undesignated fund? Who did we pay to watch the snow budget and making adjustments in management to try and compensate for a very snowy winter? The last manager was applauded for his economic development initiatives, but did his expertise there happen at the expense of the other parts of town management? We paid a professional manager a good salary, a great salary, to provide us with management expertise. What makes a good town manager? What makes a great town manager? Did we get what we were paying for? Our councilors are not professional managers. Some may have professional experience , some may not. Could they have managed the manager differently?- probably. But maybe the former manager did not want to be managed differently either. There will always be things we should do better.
I agree with David Webster that it is time to move on. I hope he will run for council in November.
May 15th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Question for Molly: Could you please email me the rules for participating on this blog ? I would like to use this forum. Thanks
May 15th, 2008 at 10:43 am
Brian,
You can probably get the information you are looking for by selecting the terms of use link on the main page.
May 15th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
thanks for the info Dave. I have reviewed the terms of use and as of this date it is my opinion that nobody has abused this blog in any manner and I hope there will be no attempt to surpress anyones entries here. Freedom of speech rates high with this citizen and our rights of expression should always be respected. I have read most of the entries on this site and have seen the indifference between a few of the writers but I believe that is what makes us human and above all…American This is a great forum and I hope more new entries about our town see these pages.
May 18th, 2008 at 11:16 pm
Hi all
Just to let you know the flyer my neighbor passed around damming Bees got the attention of the press. So here I am a new beekeeper. The Portland Press Herald got a hold of me, then the Foster’s. I have become an ambassador for amateur beekeeping, and I have had my Bees for only 14 days.
They are doing fine by the way.
Any time anyone wants to visit the hive, you are welcome.
George