Could there be a better use for our tax dollars?
"I think we gotta go in a different direction than the way we been going" - Selectman G. Young's prophetic statement on June 22, 2009, after the newly installed Selectman T. Ripley joined Selectman D. Ivey and Young to make a majority of 3 against 2. They immediately fired a perfectly competent town manager without cause, and have continued to shoot from the hip by forcing questionable selectboard decisions in the 6 months since.
Well,the Town of Paris certainly has done that - the "different direction" part.
There are several ways to calculate even just the cold hard $$ cost of that different direction. One very clear way is to look at the bills from the legal firm that represents the Town of Paris. The legal costs category is a line item in the budget approved by Paris voters at the open town meeting every June. The citizens on the budget committee include that for paying the town's attorney, or covering possible court costs that might incure in the course of running the town.
The line item amount for 2009-10 is $8000. When that amount is exhausted, any extra amount is drawn from other items in the total budgeted for Administration. When that is exhausted....???
The Paris Reporter posted as links, in past articles, Bernstein Shur bills 7-09, 8-09, 9-09.
In addition to other costs, each of these bills included items relating to legal complications resulting from the firing, and later to the Jackson 80-B Complaint (law suit).
By the end of August 09, the costs incurred by the direct actions of the 3-2 majority (the firing and the resulting law suit) came to $2257.03; another $774.50 brought the total, by the end of September, to $3031.53. 38 % of the total legal expenses line item.
October's bill shows $225.00 of the $234.50 total devoted to the Jackson 80-B Complaint. Total $3256.53. 41% of the total legal expenses line item.
November adds only $150 to the Jackson 80-B Complaint. Total $3406.53. 43% of the total legal expenses line item.
However, November's bill brings another category for costs: legal discussions -yet again - on who is responsible for Town Farm Road. Mr. Hanley, the private attorney for a certain selectman whose brother owns property that would benefit from that road, brought a matter to the selectboard that has been thoroughly looked at before. The law firm of Kurtz and Perry did an extensive review of this in 2005; and both Kurtz and Perry, as well as the firm of Bernstein Shur, provided the town with information showing this was not a town road. Paris citizens pay again, just the same: $500.
December's bill (two parts; "General" and "Jackson Rule 80-B Complaint") is lengthy. More costs were added to the Town Farm Road matter, for another $500, bringing the total for Town Farm Road legal discussions initiated by Mr. Hanley to $1000. This brings the total legal costs relating to personal agendas of specific selectboard members to $4406.53. 55% of the total legal expenses line item.
By now another new category is added to the bill citizens of Paris get to pay: the attorney fees to save certain officials from being thrown out of office by the very people who elected them. (Something wrong with a picture of us paying attorney fees to protect those officials from us...).
Five of the items in this bill were related to thwarting recall efforts; including a special selectmen's meeting 12-18 that was clearly for the purpose of figuring out how to negate a citizen petition to a notary to set a town meeting. Having the attorney attend that meeting cost the town $650, and from that meeting came the twice-as-expensive and not-convenient-for-anyone recall elections on 2 totally separate days. These 5 items add up to $1131.00. Total so far? $5537.53. 69% of the total legal expenses line item.
The December bill itemizes $325 for costs related to the Jackson 80-B Complaint.
Total, end of December 2009, for legal costs incurred by decisions made and actions taken by the 3-2 majority on the Paris Board of Selectmen since June 2009 = $5862.53.
A staggering 73% of the total legal line item in the budget for the Town of Paris 2009-2010 has been spent as a result of a personal agenda.
The legal costs mentioned above are specific ones. There are other legal costs, as well. We are not even into February. Citizens need to be asking "How are we going to make it to June?"
