Foster’s Asks Questions

Karen Gerrish, Lebanon Correspondent for Fosters Daily Democrat and the Sanford News asked me a few questions for her upcoming article spotlighting Lebanon’s candidates for Selectmen. Below are her questions and my responses. I thought it might be beneficial for those of you who may miss her article to understand my positions and opinion. When released I will link to her article (Removed By Request 6/8/09) so you can see it in it’s entirety.

1. Wife’s name
Rose-Lynne

2.  Much is currently being said about a conflict of interest policy in
town government. This year’s budget committee was forced to abstain on
several articles without a policy in effect. What is your opinion of
acquiring such a policy? Is there a need and how would you like to see
such a policy implemented?

The policy was indeed passed by Selectmen two full weeks before the
Budget Committee vote and circulated to all employees, so it was in
effect.

There is a definite need for a conflict of interest / ethics policy. I
was actually very surprised to learn the Town did not have one in place.
Most people would do the right thing without such a policy, however
there are those who would not. The policy provides necessary structure
and guidance as well as details a formal means to bring matters forward
for resolution if needed.
It is unfortunate that more people do not come forward and participate
in the Budget Committee and other boards. I am certain residents
expectations are not that, a wife, a sister and an employee, of a
“department head” would occupy three seats of the Budget Committee, but
without more general civic involvement by residents this type of
situation can occur. A policy such as our new one helps to ensure the
right thing is done in these circumstances and people do abstain. Even
though this is New for Lebanon, every other town in the area has just
such a policy.

3.  What is your opinion on the new town office building and how that
was fiscally handled?

The new Town Hall cost residents far too much and continues to cost
residents money. It is an example of the best of intentions generating
the worst of results in regards to cost and management. This spring a
new granite sign was installed as well as a additional light installed
to light the flag, so costs are still being levied.
I believe no resident or contractor would have built their own home or
managed a project the way this was handled. It is troubling the building
built upon donated property has cost residents so much. The building
doesn’t even provide a dedicated conference area for Selectmen, Planning
Board, Budget Committee and or Department Head meetings.

I believe All projects in town must go out for proper public bid,
following a standardized formal procedure, with a clearly defined
specification of work to be performed. Currently this doesn’t typically
happen in a routine open way. The result…All of our projects in town
are handled much the same as the way the Town Hall project was run. I
find this fundamentally unacceptable and in great need of improvement.

4.  Where did you live before Lebanon?

Before coming to Lebanon back in 2001 I lived in Acton Maine. What drew
me to Lebanon was the quaint country character of the town and the
community. You can still see this today in driving around many roads in
town. The town though is changing rapidly as many things do, and like
many residents I worry that Lebanon may not be preparing itself for the
future since we do not have a comprehensive plan. It is hard to know
where you are going if you don’t have a destination and map to get
there. This is what a comprehensive plan can provide us, direction and
focus.

5.  Are you in favor of having a budget committee here in town?

I favor having a Budget Committee, this committee is the eyes of the
people. However, the Budget Committee needs to be provided accurate
figures early in the process which did not happen this past session. The
Budget Committee was also provided different figures the nights of the
meetings which caused confusion, was inefficient, wasted time and did
not allow proper review. This information exchange needs to be improved
to be more reliable and transparent. I attended most of the meetings as
an observer and placed the recordings on http://ourvoice.stadig.org for
residents to view and follow along on their own time.
I would like to note I had applied to the open Budget Committee seat
last fall and I also pulled papers to be a on the ballot for the Budget
Committee during this upcoming term. My desire and efforts are to serve
you as Selectmen, but in the event I am not elected Selectmen I wanted
an opportunity to serve as a Budget Committee member. To be clear I have
no intention or desire to do both.
My broad professional experience and fresh perspective would better
serve the town as Selectmen.

6. Are you in favor of the Selectmen appointing bud. com. members rather
than being elected by the people?

The people should elect their Budget Committee representatives, if due
to lack of participation or a person dropping out then Selectmen must be
afforded the authority to solicit candidates and appoint people to fill
such vacancies. If residents do not take an active role to participate
then Selectmen are left no option other than to solicit interest and
appoint people. I encourage more civic involvement by our residents.

7.  Are you in favor of Lebanon having a town manager? What sort of
background/education should that person have? Should we share one with
another town?

I favor a Town Manager and I also favor a five member board of Selectmen
if we adopt a Town Manager plan.

In years past I would have voted against a Town Manager, viewing the
position as unnecessary and another layer of costly administration. I
have learned a Town Manager would provide the detailed oversight
required to properly handle day to day activities of the Town. They
would be an expert in state and federal grant application bringing much
needed monies to our community and ensure we efficiently manage our
people and cash resources. A Town Manager would in effect not cost the
town anything, moreover they would drive more revenue into our town and
ensure we get the most from every single dollar we do spend. This person
would seek out and implement best practices in policy, management, and
record keeping at all levels in our Town.

A Town Manager is an educated administrator with a broad background in
finance and administration. They would not be a part-timer, working to
simply do the best they can, as our Selectmen have. The Town Manager
would be a dedicated full-time professional manager of the Town, taking
direction from and reporting to the Selectmen. Current and past
Selectmen have both stated there is just too much that needs to be done
and or could be done and time and other constraints stand in the way. A
Town Manager would eliminate these constraints having the time to apply
their knowledge and expertise to steadily improve Lebanon’s ability to
handle future fiscal and community challenges.

Increasing the board of Selectmen from three to five would provide a
more balanced, consistent oversight of the Town Manager. The Selectmen
in this case should be provided only a small stipend versus an open
ended hourly wage as is the case today. All this to be done with the
goal of achieving a better, more efficient administration of the Town,
with more people involved, and in the end actually be less costly.

Our town has grown and we are one of the only towns our size in the
state that does not have a Town Manager. Some have suggested a part-time
person, or even sharing them with another Town. This might appear cost
effective and an attractive way to ease into things, but I believe it
would only serve to water down and impair the Town Manager’s
effectiveness and in the end we wouldn’t reap the benefits to the levels
expected. I am certain a good Town Manager will more than earn their
keep given the opportunity.

In general we need to adopt “best practices” in our town government and
its overall administration. With or without a Town Manager that is what
I will work toward given the opportunity. I am certain my fresh
perspective will compliment the experience of the other Selectmen. If
elected I promise to be an effective Selectmen and work to enhance the
trust, transparency, and communication in our Town, on your behalf.

You may learn more about me at http://ourvoice.stadig.org