Focus on the real issue - accountability

     Friday’s Exeter News-Letter had a front page, feel good story about an Exeter firefighter’s battle with his excess weight. While his perseverance to lose weight is admirable, the real story should have been: Why was he allowed to be a firefighter weighing 342 pounds?

     He admitted that he could not climb a ladder in full turnout gear during an emergency.  Doesn’t anyone else see that this man could have put people’s lives at risk?  If he couldn’t climb up the ladder, how was he supposed to help someone else climb down a ladder to safety?  The safety of a fire fighting team relies on each individual being completely fit to meet the demands of the job at hand.  While this particular firefighter should have taken personal responsibility for his weight issue and inability to meet the requirements of his job, the focus here is on Fire Chief Comeau and the Town Manager.

     Where was our Fire Chief? Where was our Town Manager? Didn’t they see what was painfully obvious to any casual observer? At 342 pounds, this person should not have been on active duty. Are there any others in the department that have similar performance problems? The Chief will probably try to use this as an excuse to get the physical exam money he was refused by the Budget Committee last year. This has nothing to do with an examination by a doctor.  It has to do with personal and departmental accountability.

     Someone in management should be taken to task for allowing this gentleman to have put himself and others at risk.  The Chief is yet again trying to sell taxpayers on the need for a sub-station to reduce engine response time.  He should be concerned about his firefighters being fully qualified to do the job when they arrive on the scene.

New Economic Development Director

     You all should take the time to meet Darren Winham.  Had the opportunity to meet him and speak briefly not too long ago.  He seems bright and energetic and is aware of the issues that are felt to discourage business development in Exeter.  It also seems he has a good handle on the personalities of those who are viewed as hurdles to such development.  One can only hope he has the necessary support to affect change where it is appropriate and needed.  The jury is out and the prospects of a positive outcome are in the balance.

Sidewalks

     It is encouraging to read of plans to replace sidewalks on a 400 foot stretch of High Street in the vicinity of the dam.  Replacing sidewalks in conjunction with adjacent roadwork does make sense.  While it has been decided to use concrete for the new sidewalks because concrete lasts longer than asphalt, one is left to wonder if that is an economic decision.  That is, was there a cost/life cycle analysis done to compare alternatives?   How much longer is "longer?" With 35miles of sidewalks in "good to poor" condition, the difference in materials costs is substantial.
     It is also good to read that Town Manager Russ Dean proposes spreading sidewalk replacement over a number of years to minimize the impact to taxpayers.  Hopefully the discipline will be there to actually implement the plan each year.

No news is no posting

     Have faith when time goes by and no new postings.  When there is something worth passing along there will be a posting.  Otherwise the blog will be silent.  Things should pick up as we get into budget review and issues for the March ballot.

Millions of outside money to defeat Brown

     While not strictly Town business and within the purpose of this blog, it is felt you need to be made aware of a serious intervention in the New Hampshire political scene.  Tom Steyer, a billionaire from San Francisco, is spending $100 million in money to support Shaheen's and six other Democratic senator's re-election bids.  This money will be used to pay young operatives who, at this very moment, are out ringing door bells of a targeted group of independent voters between 18 and 30 years old.  As you know we need the votes of independents to defeat Shaheen.  It is also being used for the hideously negative ads attacking Scott Brown.  Politics just gets meaner and uglier.
     This blog will not be addressing issues outside the Town, but it is important to draw the attention of those opposing Shaheen's re-election to this effort.  For more information go to NextGenClimate.org.  It is very disturbing to have an outside group actively trying to buy the vote of independent New Hampshire residents.  Here we see again the hypocrisy of the Democrats who charge that Brown is a carpetbagger, while they bring in money from a California, liberal billionaire.  Disgusting and shameful.  And Democrats have the gall to slam the Koch brothers while they have the almighty George Soros, et al.

Keep your eye on the budget process

     The cycle for the Town budget has begun.  Your Budget Recommendation Committee will soon be hard at work for our benefit.  Their work is clearly cut out for them to ferret out the hidden peas and to try to make apples to apples comparisons as the Town Manager again plays his sleight of hand games.
     As has been his habit he moves items from revolving funds to line items to muddy the waters and items from line item to warrant to obscure a real budget increase.  The budget increase at present appears to be 3.4%, but is it really?  Too bad a default budget has not been presented as it would give one an apples to apples comparison.
     Stay tuned to this blog and we'll do our best to sort the budget out for you. 

There is a pattern here.

    
 

     Briefly, here's an update on replacing the waste water treatment plant.  DPW hired a consultant to study various "regional" options.  A draft report has been generated with the only options listed as one where Exeter would shut down our current plant and send our effluent to Hampton or Portsmouth.  This draft report included no study of the economic impact on Exeter.  In fact, the option of Exeter building a new plant and servicing Newfields to increase our customer base was not even considered.  Why aren't other options included in the report as was done by the quite complete River Study Committee's report on river restoration and dam removal?
     Now we learn that a "final" report will be presented to the Board of Selectmen in late October.  In addition, while the W&S Committee was advised they would receive a presentation of the report last Wednesday, it did not happen.  Members were told if they wanted they could attend an October 3rd, 7:30 a.m. meeting at the DPW.  Very early and no television coverage for citizens!
    The final report is scheduled to be presented to the Selectmen the end of October. What is truly disturbing is that the W&S Committee, advisers to the Selectmen, won't be meeting until 2 weeks after it is presented to the Selectmen.
     So, here again we see a few members of a committee try to ram through a $5 million project without any discussion of alternatives, analyses, or, frankly, time for the Board of Selectmen to fully educate themselves to vote on whether to approve the proposed project.  The public is again being essentially shutoff from being educated on an expenditure that they will have to fund.
     Aside from the aforementioned dam removal project, we have too often been presented with a multimillion dollar project for which more alternatives have not been examined and included in discussions.  The fire substation is but another example.  It would seem that the Town Manager sets up committees to provide legitimacy for proposals for which the public has had little to no input.  It is also evident during public comment at Board of Selectmen meetings that public input is not desired.

 

Once again to the well - The fire sub-station

     Once again Fire Chief Comeau is pitching the sub-station project at an estimated $2.3 million.  The only thing that has changed for this project is the passage of time.  The case for this expenditure seems no more compelling than it was when it was first proposed a number of years ago.  He cites studies and some statistics.  One could question if the studies were done to support the conclusion, or whether they are truly without bias.  One could also question the proper response time.  Those on the west side of town likely find their response time not much different than those on the east side.  At least not orders of magnitude different.
     What is needed are public meetings where the pros and cons can be discussed and those affected by the project or the cost of the project get their say.  A project of this magnitude needs to be explained to those who would pay the bill.  This is particularly true when one considers the costs now facing taxpayers for the dam removal and river restoration, the waste water treatment plant upgrade, sidewalks and continued work to eliminate inflow and infiltration issues with our sewer system.
     Once again those requesting that the townspeople foot the bill for never ending projects must be held to a needs versus desired criteria.  Our pockets do have bottoms.

Downtown trash cans

     Jim Peschel, in his recent letter to the editor, had it right when he suggested that the Town Manager meet with the owner of Stillwell's to find a solution for the trash problem outside their place of business.  Exeter is not Portsmouth, it is a small town.  It is clearly within reason for our Town Manager to leave his office and walk the short distance to Stillwell's.  It is also within his authority to work out a solution to the trash issue.  At over $100,000 in annual salary (plus generous benefits), it would be refreshing to see Russell Dean deal with some issues personally rather than to hand them off to someone else.  In this particular case he is handing it over to the new Economic Development Director??!!
     It appears to this citizen that Dean considers himself above such petty issues.  Rather he hands it off to someone hired to bring new business to Exeter.  How does handling a minor trash issue bring new business to Exeter?  As a stretch one might offer that it is building community relations.  Really?
     Dean seems to be short on personal initiative.  This is altogether evident in his lack of developing new initiatives to bend the cost curve downward and save taxpayer dollars.