On the Coming elect meeting in New Gloucester
Jul 28, 2010 – This coming Monday evening selectmen's meeting should bring the town managers annual employee evaluation. Looking back at what has transpired over the last twelve months with the town manager I hope your memories are not to short. We had a potential law suit with a computer company that was due to the managers failure to follow the contract, we have employee who has charged the manager of creating a hostile work place, the front office personnel have to look over their shoulder at all times to watch out for themselves after watching what has occurred with our assessor. The town manager supplying the taxpayers with the wrong budget information and/or no information, changing the budget process not to include the department heads except to submit their budgets and excluding them from the process. The annual town meeting report information had all reference information from the WRONG YEAR so no taxpayer could understand the proposed 2010/2011 budget with the same information as 2009/2010 was printed word for word. There was so much concern for the manager's ability to do his job at town no one spoke in favor of the town manager except the Chairperson No maintenance contracts for the new Fire Department building. When the tax rate was set last year the manager forgot to include the school commitment payment of $300,000.00. But that's not all; remember when we were all told at the town meetings that the assessor's elimination was not of a personal matter between the manager and the assessor and her performance was never questioned but praised and that it was just a financial savings?
Well as it is understood the day the assessor returned to work she received a letter from the town manager stating new requirements of her position including not wearing jeans to the office and other requirements. This is to include field inspections which are part of her job of which no other department head who does field is subject to this requirement. Also when the assessor received her employee evaluation she received low performance ratings in direct contradiction to what the taxpayer had been told. This information is second hand but from a most reliable person. And when you look at the assessor is back on medical leave with interaction with the town manager……..!
Also when I brought up the fact that the Town was discriminating against a paraplegic resident it was like a big secret had bee let out in fact the Chain Steve Libby threw up his hands at the may selectmen's meeting looked into the camera and stated that that was the first time he had heard of this and told the manager to take care of the issue. Well in fact six months earlier the town manager, Steve Libby, and selectperson Linda Chase were made aware of these facts at a CIP meeting. As of today nothing has been done so maybe another law suit either personal and/or Federal.
Another item of interest is that the town manager has performed a annual employee evaluation of a department head WITHOUT the employee present. Now I have been in corporations' in my adult life and have never heard of such a thing. The correct manner would be to have a face to face two way exchange as to know the expectations of both parties and input the employee's comments included in the document and both sign the document one copy to the employee and the other into the personnel file. What manner of management is this? My final comment is that these shouldn't be a evaluation he should be FIRED.
Also with everyone in dire straights tax wise as the selectmen have told us we now have spent thousands of dollars to drill an artesian well at the Fairgrounds with no where to use the water. This is in an area where we have conflicting reports of the water quality and no taxpayer vote has ever been taken on the spending of this money.
And for those who enjoyed the thirty nine year old pine tree used in upper corner as our Christmas Tree, it was cut down yesterday. I sure am glad this is a GREEN community. At least we won't be wasting money on electricity on tree lights or maybe this the separation of CHURCH and STATE, probably would have been easier to not put up the lights.
Roger Levasseur
New Gloucester Taxpayer
