CHESTERVILLE – Nomination papers are now available for two seats on the Board of Selectmen, with the election scheduled for Nov. 8. The seats were left vacant after both selectmen resigned at the Sept. 15 meeting.
Papers can be taken out at the town office for the position of Selectman, Assessor and Overseer of the Poor in regards to the seats vacated by Anne Lambert and David Archer. The resident elected to Lambert’s seat would serve the remaining 4 months on her term, while Archer’s term has 2 years and 4 months remaining. Both Lambert and Archer were elected in March, with the former selectman serving a one-year term due to the departure of another selectman.
Nomination papers must be returned by Oct. 7 to the town office with at least 25 signatures of registered voters. The election itself will be held in conjunction with the national election on Nov. 8.
The selectmen resigned during the course of the Sept. 15 selectman meeting, following the revelation that Internal Revenue Service penalties discussed on Sept. 8 had already been paid prior to that special town meeting. At that meeting, residents reluctantly agreed to appropriate $3,500 with the understanding that the penalties needed to be swiftly addressed to avoid generating further interest.
Lambert resigned at the beginning of the meeting, reading from a letter of resignation submitted to the town. Archer submitted a brief, handwritten letter of resignation at the meeting.
Selectmen Chair Guy Iverson, Matthew Welch and Paul Caldwell currently constitute the Chesterville Board of Selectmen.
More details about the IRS penalty issue and the resignations can be found here.
I’m tied of not being able to speak as well. When you get hired and since then no matter what selectmen meeting you go to, (I’m talking for myself at this time). Thou other employees I do believe may have this same feeling. The ones that would try to help from the board was pushed out by the ones that was and still on the board’
They make you feel you a below them and even thou they don’t want to come in and take the time to assist (at the beginning of learning and help train a new employee). So don’t put down the employee (‘s) of how they are doing their job (‘s) where they feel you are inconveniencing them if you ask a question. They ramble on and on about things not important at the time.
So how can an employee (‘s) feel they could bring up something to them. The board need a weekly agenda and also follow up on what was left over from the week prior to be decided on’
This is for any select board member that has been in the position since I have started working with.
I would like to thank a couple of the select board members that did take time to learn and see that the employee’s was informed and I believe for that they was pushed out. They keep saying that the good old boys need to be out and go forward. I don’t see this happening I believe the good old boys are still around and making sure their circle are informed so their decision are approved. Maybe this will cost me my job thou I have enjoyed working for the citizens of this town. I’m still working to be an asset to this community thou with any position here in the town, we need to feel we are appreciated as well and helped to take your town forward not backward.
Well what a fine mess we’re in here in Chesterville. I think we should get to the real root of the problem with this disfunctional board of selectman. Maybe we should start thinking about hiring a town manager? This board has been a revolving door for a few years now and obviously is not working. Who in the world want to throw their hat in to join this board during this constant mess?
From what I have seen at the town office, the selectmen are working good, it wasn’t the selectmen that asked the two who resigned to get done, that was their decision, one person from the town asked Dave archer to get done, he did not have to leave, the problem is coming from the office next door, they are constantly throwing the selectmen under the bus all the time. And sliding in a IRS payment to make the selected look bad. The truth is going to come out. Changes need to be made, and it’s not what people think.
Olive you do a fine job in CHESTERVILLE. Maybe we need someone like you do be the town manager . The selectman we have now should resign as well ,and lets start with a clean slate with the board .
the people in this town deserve better from everyone at the town office, and we need to work to get it there. There is no good ol boys, we all live in the same town, it’s hard not to know everyone in town. But thats not the problem here. the people need to hear the truth about what’s going on, sooner than later, but if a lawyer is telling the select board to keep quiet, than we need to wait, the truth will come out in the end, I don’t know if that comment from olive was damage control or not, but that’s what it sounds like to me, when you have someone throwing the select board under the bus like that, thats not very professitional, and that’s what has been lacking at the town office. It needs to stop.
The present board is a fine group of individuals trying to do a good job with what they have to work with. When employees start talking on a response column in the manner as one already has, the question needs to be asked, “where is the real problem?” Maybe part of the problem has already left the board, and given a chance, with a couple of new members getting into office for the right reasons, this town could be in a much better place than it has been in for the past forty or so years. This town is finally moving forward in a good direction. Keep up the good work Guy, Paul, Matt, and whoever else gets elected.
@ Olive: Apparently the two former select persons resigned over something to do with the IRS penalties according to this and previous articles. Who’s responsibility should this have been to make the IRS payments BEFORE penalties were charged to the town? Why didn’t the select board make sure to correct this issue before it got out of hand? There might be more to this than meets the eye.
Steve just a brief comment not throwing anyone under the bus. Talk about professional you are looking in the wrong direction. Organization, and follow through is a key factor of anything running smooth.
Well from what I read from what you wrote, you can become apart of the salution to the problems that is going on at the town office, or you can become part of the problem, that’s your choice. Going on social media and running people down like that is only going to make things worse, not better for anyone in the town, from what you wrote makes you no better than what your complaining about. Yes we need changes, but that’s not the way you do it, the conflict needs to stop before things can run smoothly, and from what I have seen there is a lot of it going on, It shouldn’t be about taking sides, but working together, not against each other.
@ as a citizen, wondering, you obivously have NO clue what is going on with the Selectmen. There is NO reason to harass your fellow selectpersons.
I am certain whatever core issues are trying to be addressed are far more complex (not nefarious) than what anyone might be able to garner from news articles. By far, most (if not close to all) of the selectmen in towns throughout Franklin County are public service oriented and are serving for the betterment of their respective communities.
I am not going to be a backseat driver and pretend to understand any of the intricacies which may need to be worked out. I can offer that the Maine Municipal Association (MMA) is a wonderful resource to consider leveraging in the fullest extent regardless of how the Town’s citizens/government move forward. The Maine Municipal Association is a voluntary non-profit membership organization offering an array of professional services to municipalities and other local governmental entities in Maine.
Taken from their website “MMA is dedicated to assisting local governments, and the people who serve in local government, in meeting the needs of their citizens and serving as responsible partners in the intergovernmental system. MMA’s services include advocacy, education and information, professional legal and personnel advisory services, and group insurance self-funded programs.”