Comments on: In the News: May 11, 2008

By: George

George — Mon, 19 May 2008 03:16:12 +0000

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

By: Brian Michaud

Brian Michaud — Thu, 15 May 2008 22:34:55 +0000

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.

By: Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor)

Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor) — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:43:34 +0000

Brian,
You can probably get the information you are looking for by selecting the terms of use link on the main page.

By: Brian Michaud

Brian Michaud — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:30:53 +0000

Question for Molly: Could you please email me the rules for participating on this blog ? I would like to use this forum. Thanks

By: just thinking

just thinking — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:13:31 +0000

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.

By: Pat R

Pat R — Thu, 15 May 2008 01:05:30 +0000

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.

By: Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor)

Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor) — Wed, 14 May 2008 19:25:19 +0000

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.

By: George

George — Wed, 14 May 2008 18:47:08 +0000

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

By: Dave W

Dave W — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:24:05 +0000

`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

By: Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor)

Dave Webster (Not the ex-councilor) — Tue, 13 May 2008 21:30:47 +0000

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.