Clarification: Monday 12-12-10, TPR announced "We have lost the Treasurer for the Town of Paris, Sharon Gendreau." TPR needs to be clear that Ms. Gendreau is not the treasurer; she is the deputy treasurer. Her legal title is Finance Clerk, Deputy Treasurer. [Annual Town Report 2008-2009, Paris Maine].
The legal title of Treasurer, Town of Paris, goes to Town Manager Tarr.
Nevertheless, Ms. Gendreau has resigned, and that is an item that Paris citizens overlook at their peril. She is - and was - a dedicated, responsible, competent professional, and she kept us stable (as stated last posting); and now we have lost her. Why would that be? And will we be losing others? Has anyone looked? The staff behind the hired manager is only a work force, only minions...only what keeps this town running.
There are those who ask questions, who look deeper; and there are those who don't - and will not.
Are things better in Paris now than a year ago? Who would be in a position to know? Have you been in the town office to look? Have you asked questions? Would you know if you heard the truth? or not?
There will be an interim finance officer coming in - TPR reported that Mgr. Tarr would act as interim; that is not strictly accurate, as the transcript below shows. [editor's note: There is a bad taste in Paris for the word "interim", i.e., the interim town manager after the vendetta firing of Town Manager Jackson.]
And then there is to be advertising for the permanent finance officer position. The interim officer who will somehow keep this town running... by handling just about everything... will fade into the sunset, and a new, handpicked individual will arrive on the scene.
Wait...handpicked by who...er whom??
Now why should TPR be so concerned about all of this? After all, the Paris Selectboard is on top of all of this. Hmmmm.... Refer to the statements above about asking questions.
Transcript, from beginning of Citizen Comments, Paris Selectboard meeting 12-13-10:
Chairman Glover: "Moving on to Citizen's Comments - Yes?
Citizen: "This is for Mgr. Tarr. I'm concerned about the money being managed in our town. What steps are you taking to replace Sharon Gendreau's position?"
Mgr. Tarr: "...Probably...Sharon will be replaced on an interim basis..."
Citizen: "By...?"
Mgr. Tarr: "I'm not sure. And...I just learned about this yesterday, so...I'm sorry - Friday.[editor's note: TPR wonders about this date....] So,...and then because of the highly sensitive nature of dealing with public finance, it's...not only will we be replacing, replacing her on a temporary basis, it takes quite a bit of time and work to find the right person on a permanent basis. So, it would be a two-step process - someone will be here before Sharon leaves, and...she will be available on an on-call basis for advice and so forth."
Citizen: "Who has oversight over this interim process?"
Mgr. Tarr: "I do."
Citizen: "And then, that's...then you will be answerable to the board on that, right? "
Mgr. Tarr: "Yes."
Citizen: (to the board) "And will there be oversight from the board, then? Yes?...I'm simply asking..."
Chair. G.: "What?"
Citizen: "Oversight, from the board, on this?"
More than one board member: "Yes."
There followed a bit of chatting among some board members about an individual who might be interested in an interim position...in this situation...losing the finance officer...and all...
Is anyone paying attention?
