I invite you to visit, register, and become involved. http://ourvoice.stadig.org

I arrived at 6:35pm to the town hall after finding the meeting had moved from the published location of the Elementary School. When I walked in there were three other residents standing in the lobby. They were told to wait, huh?  The Secretary to the selectmen came out a few minutes later and we all headed to the meeting room where the door was being opened and a woman was leaving.

We signed-in The first resident was recognized and explained he was having difficulty registering his automobiles due to the hours maintained by the town. Laura Bragg explained the town was testing the state Fast File system and likely in a couple weeks re-registration couple be done online.

One resident was recognized and explained that after the meeting last night she felt compelled to learn more about the towns operations and felt she could help in some way. Selectmen Churchard explained that we don’t have enough involvement and participation by citizens and her participation was welcome.

I explained i understood the school for the last two years to have added about a dollar each year to the mill rate. What are the large drivers of the increase on the municipal side.? I was told it was an article on Plowing that was passed and increases in other areas. I asked several other questions on this same line and could not get a clear answer only to hear we don’t have enough surplus.

I explained i thought that school superintendent did an excellent job explaining the schools portion of the increase and asked if a similar comparison was available or could be made for expense categories by year for the town? I was pointed to look at the town book. I explained that the information comparison must have been compiled for budget and review and it would have been helpful had they demonstrated the expense history to the residents.

At 7pm bids for the Winter Sand were opened there were three and a motion was made and accepted to take the cheapest bid.

Selectmen Churchard  asked each of the selectmen if they had anything else and made a quick motion to adjourn. One of the woman asked a question regarding the cutting of timber that came up last night and if it was indeed occurring. Selectmen Frizzell had visited the area this morning and timber operations were underway and payment checks are expected very soon. I asked if the town indeed does not have a charter as was pointed out last night. Selectmen Churchard stated we did not and several unsuccessful attempts have been made to create a charter, town plan, growth plan …etc and all of them have been voted down by the residents. Selectmen Churchard also said a committee has been formed to create a new town plan for proposal next year.

A couple more residents arrived about 7:15pm (after having gone to elementary school) they had questions on the timber and it was briefly re-explained. Selectmen Churchard motioned to adjourn and they all stood up ending the meeting at about 7:25pm.

After leaving i spoke outside  with the other residents attending. We exchanged our dissatisfaction of handling of the meeting and the tax problem. I encouraged them to maintain participation and be involved.

A Sample of Next Weeks Questions:

Why is the meeting location not posted as being the Elementary School and not the Town Hall?

Could an easel or sign be set-up in the lobby or door of the Town Hall, welcoming residents or guests to the meeting room out back?

Why were the residents not included when meeting was started and told to wait?

Is there a time in the regular meeting or another meeting possibly where residents questions might be answered and dialog could be exchanged? As a resident it is hard to gauge if we should chime in on issues or wait until the meeting is opened. We were not asked if we were all set prior to adjourning or thanked for attending making us feel very unwelcome.

Why are dogs allowed in the Town Hall?  The Secretary to Selectmen had a dog in the meeting room and on her lap for most of the meeting.

What meetings are being held and when in regards to Town Business?.   ie. Growth Plan Committee, Budget Committee, School Board, Board of Adjustment etc .

Of course there will be more on expenses….

I learned my town does not have a charter with which to operate, it was lost. The selectmen have been spending “surplus” funds as needed without a public vote, one selectmen stated they did not want the job knowing what is involved and the tax collector said she “will not collect interest penalty tax at her window until November 1st” even though it has been pointed out to her it requires a referendum vote and would be illegal. The towns accounting process is a mess….and the list goes on

The superintendent of schools spoke and had a one sheet handout detailing the finances of the school district over the last four years. He was well spoken and did a great job explaining the schools situation. Had our own elected officials or the auditor shown similar information detailing the town expense history of  fire,  road, and muncipal expenses the same way it would have helped defuse the situation. If there really is no additional spending in the town and the issue is truly one of a change in accounting practices, it woud be self evident.

I hope based upon last nights meeting that citizens get more involved and stay involved to drive change and controls within the town. Clearly there are more issues occurring in the town than i am aware of. One gentlemen at the meeting accused selectmen Frizzell of getting 240k for trucking during a storm last year, Frizzell responded with he it wasn’t him who received the money, but his company that received the funds and he gave the town a discount on the materials hauled.  One resident pointed out six trucks a day, were hauling a mountain of timber off a town forestry project. The timber clearing project was ongoing even though a seletmen stated this wasn’t starting until the ground froze.  Clearly we need more oversight of the disperment, bid practices, and management in the town.

I personally believe if we could close the town offices until we could review the budget and controls that we would see a quicker and less apathetic response by the elected officials. If it were to take months to create a charter and get to the bottom of the budget woes at least we would save the expenses.

Lebanon needs reform and more community involvement by it’s citizens. Many in attendence including myself were upset, but one needs to only look in the mirror to see who is responsible; the citizens.  I am considering forming a group to help watch over the finances, encourage unbiased oversight of issues, and spread information of what i see. If you have any interest in being on the emailing list or participating even in the smallest ways please comment or send me you’re email.

I read long ago the definition of insantity is doing the exact same thing over and over again and expecting differant results. Lets stop the insanity, join me in invoking a change for the better. I don’t know all we can do,  but change will start with you’re involvement.

There are several things that smell about this development and leave a bad taste in my mouth. When i read the initial report of the tax hike in the “Observer” it indicated the new Selectmen Jason Cole did not attend the meeting when this was voted on and when questioned could not provide any broad reasons or details. Are you kidding, how does a selectmen not have any idea as to why the rest of his co-selectmen would vote over a one third increase?

I next read in the Fosters on Sept 11th that selectman chair Judy Churchard said that “Lebanon’s current tax hike is not the result of increased spending in town, but rather lowered tax rates over the past couple years. The town had ample surplus funds which selectmen used to buy the tax rate down. Now the reserves, or surplus need to be replenished.” Churchard added that the increased tax rate had nothing to do with the construction of the new Lebanon Town Office. – Why do we need to replenish a reserve / surplus, the taxes are to pay budgeted expenses are they not?

LD1 went into effect in 2005 just to address this issue of municipal tax increases and place a statutory limit  on the increases state and local spending allowed. According to all reports I see issued by the State, taxes and spending have gone down across the board as one might expect. So why now the HUGE increase?

How is it the tax bills get issued on or about Sept 11 but the bills themselves are dated as being issued in April? Effectively the delaying of the issue of the bills increased the tax retroactively…why did they not issue the tax bills in April?  How is it the tax bill shows as of October 6 a late fee penalty will be charged of 11%? Because the town waited 5 months to issue the bills we residents are only allowed 3 weeks to pay?

How much surplus does the town have that it can operate nearly 6 months without the tax revenue coming in?

I attended the selectmen meeting this evening because i thought many residents might be in attendance and their might be some reaction or discussion from either side. Chair Judy Churchard was not in attendance and the only discussion observed on the tax topic was that explaining several residents called upset, and that they should have made a larger increase last year to soften and offset this large jump.

Other business discussed at the selectmen meeting was..Two requests by the State Of Maine were discussed asking for information. One was regarding statistical data on subdivided property values and improvements the other request revolved around campers at campgrounds or own their own property being valued for tax purposes. Finally a resident had inquired about the blocking of an old road crossing the Sewell property. Further reasearch would be necesary.

I believe residents of Lebanon need to wake up and demand changes in the management of the town and in particular the way budgets and finances are managed. There should not be any large reserve accounts or surplus slush accounts that can be used at selectman’s discretion and whim. I believe that line item budgets should be proposed and reported so residents can clearly see where the money is going.  Clearly when we voted this spring we didn’t have a line item asking for the tax rate to go up 34%.  If the town was in this TAX REVENUE CRISIS then they should have called a meeting before issue the bills and perhaps offer options such as cutting back projects and expenses and having a special vote.

I find these circumstances absurd and the last straw and I urge residents to get involved and effect change of our town government for the better. I love the small town we live in without all it’s big town services, and big town expenses, lets keep it affordable by ensuring it’s managed properly.

Selectmen should not have latitude and freedom they exercise over the coffers of the town and or the freedom to reach into our wallets so casually as they have. I believe given the option, residents might opt to close the town offices for a couple months to balance the budget (as we did before) versus increasing the tax rate 34%.

Small town government works when people are involved. C’mon people we don’t have to stand for this……

By the way the new town webite looks to be a more open concept allowing the viewing of minutes, tax bills and more, but none of the information is actually viewable….when it’s there were one step closer.