Published in the Current and the American Journal
As the result of a statewide freedom of information audit spearheaded by the state’s press association, two bills designed to ensure that public records and documents are actually available to members of the public have been introduced in the Legislature.
Staff members of the Current and American Journal newspapers participated in the Nov. 19 survey, along with over 100 other volunteers from newspapers, universities and citizens’ groups.
The outcome is that the Maine Press Association and the Maine Daily Newspaper Publishers Association have filed a request for legislators, media representatives and local and state government representatives to study compliance with the state’s Freedom of Access Act and report back to the Legislature at the end of the year. It also calls for a review of the law itself and recommendations on ways to improve it.
The second bill would require police departments to adopt written policies on compliance with the state’s right-to-know laws. The Maine Criminal Justice Academy would have to establish minimum standards for public
information policies. The bill would require police officials to train personnel about right-to-know laws and assess fines for those officials who failed to comply with them.
In the Nov. 19 statewide survey, the volunteer auditors visited 156 municipal offices, 75 police stations and 79 school administrative offices to request specific documents that are public under state statute.
Also, requests by mail for copies of the minutes of the most recent town council meetings were made for each of the 489 villages, towns and cities in the state. A one-dollar bill was included in the request, to defray copying and mailing costs.
According to a statement by the Maine Freedom of Information Coalition, which coordinated the effort, “the response of public officials was mixed.” Many auditors were asked to produce identification, identify their employers or provide reasons for their requests. Maine law does not require people to identify themselves, their employers or explain why they want to view public documents.
Auditors asked to view police logs, the superintendent’s contract and expense reports for the town’s highest elected official.
Police results
Police departments in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were all audited.
South Portland did not allow the auditor to view the log, and said in her comments, “(they) said they don’t give it out, that some of the info is not public knowledge. I asked for a blacked-out version, couldn’t get it.” She was also asked for a reason for her request.
The auditor of Scarborough’s police department was unable to view the log because a computer malfunction meant the system was inaccessible. He was asked for identification, the name of his employer and a reason for his request.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the report, after asking for identification and a reason, and asking her to fill out paperwork. The person who made the request said on her comment form, “waited about 45 minutes for chief to redact the log. He said he removed names so people would not be discouraged from calling police.”
Westbrook allowed an auditor to view the log, but asked for the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Windham allowed viewing of the log, but asked for identification, the name of the auditor’s employer and a reason for her request.
Gorham allowed viewing of the log, which did not include summonses or arrests, and asked for a reason but did not require one.
Of 75 police departments visited statewide, 33 percent denied access to police logs outright. Of the 67 percent that complied, 45 percent required auditors to identify themselves, 39 percent required auditors to name their employers and 48 percent required justification for access. In a small number of cases, members of the public were denied access to police records because they were not members of the media.
The question also arose of what a police log is.
Gorham’s records were a list of complaints and calls handled by officers, but did not include information on whether arrests or summonses were made, or the names of people arrested or summonsed.
The auditor in Cape Elizabeth was given access to the department’s call record, a document not normally made available in the department’s public log.
School and town results
School offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Westbrook and Windham were asked for copies of the superintendent’s contract.
Cape Elizabeth allowed an auditor to view the document, but the person handling the request asked for a reason and had to ask a coworker to make sure the document was public. When told that it was, the person “gave it to me with no trouble,” the auditor reported.
Gorham allowed access without any questions. Scarborough, South Portland and Windham did allow access, but asked for identification, a reason, an employer’s name or all three.
Westbrook did not allow an auditor to view the document, asked for identification and suggested the auditor return to see if it would be available later.
Town offices in Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham were also asked for access to expense reports for the towns’ highest elected official.
Scarborough, Gorham and Standish would have allowed access but no such information exists. Standish offers councilors $10 per meeting, to cover travel and expenses, but as of Oct. 31, 2002, no members of the present council had even filed to request that stipend.
Westbrook asked for an ID and a reason, and did not have any applicable documents ready to hand. “Michelle (mayor’s secretary) said she’d pull something together,” the auditor wrote. Michelle “didn’t have anything easily accessible, and promised to call tomorrow.”
Windham denied access because the form was “waiting to be approved,” the auditor was told. The auditor was also asked for ID, an employer and a reason for wanting to see the document.
Cape Elizabeth allowed access, with a “very cooperative” person helping the auditor.
South Portland also allowed access, after an office worker asked a co-worker for the proper procedure.
All of the towns, Cape Elizabeth, Gorham, Scarborough, South Portland, Standish, Westbrook and Windham, sent the most recent council meeting minutes, as requested by mail. Some also returned the $1 and several post minutes on their town web sites.
Statewide results
The Maine School Management Association learned of the audit before Nov. 19 and sent an e-mail to superintendents advising them to comply with auditors’ requests.
But of 79 school departments visited, only 67 percent permitted access to the superintendent’s contract.
Of those, 50 percent asked auditors for ID, 13 percent asked for the auditor’s employer’s name and 37 percent asked auditors for a reason they wanted to view the document. In about 10 percent of offices, workers had to ask a supervisor if the contract was a public document, and in a few cases the document was locked away and not accessible to office staff.
Of 156 visited municipal offices, only 18 percent of them had the expense report on file. Nearly half of the towns, 47 percent, do not reimburse elected officials for expenses.
As for the mailed requests for minutes to 489 towns, 77.7 percent sent the documents as requested; 16.8 percent “ignored the request,” the MFOIC report said. Some towns sent the documents but they arrived after a deadline requested in the letter.
Wednesday, January 8, 2003
Thursday, January 2, 2003
No help for Cape in state’s school budget plan
Published in the Current
Despite the efforts of state Education Commissioner Duke Albanese to ease the budget crunch on local school districts, Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Tom Forcella expects this year’s financial planning to be “as tight if not tighter” than last year.
In a Dec. 18 report to the state Board of Education, Albanese proposed a 2.7 percent increase in state education spending for 2003-2004, and also proposed some changes to the school funding formula for possible discussion by the Legislature.
Among them are recommendations for averaging property values and pupil counts and expanding the “circuit-breaker” program to provide relief to property taxpayers. All of them, Albanese told the board, are “to temper the effects of changes in school funding” on districts around the state.
Districts will still feel a crunch. Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen said the proposed 2.7 percent increase is “not the ideal level of funding,” and he expects it to result in “some corresponding pressure on property tax.”
This budget is “a balance, to some extent, a compromise,” he said. “It’s not going to do everything that you would have wanted.”
Even then, the small increase may not get past a Legislature armed with sharpened pencils. Breen said, “we do have tremendous support for education in Maine,” but even so, “it’s going to be a stretch for the Legislature to find the 2.7 percent.”
No more dough
If they do, it still won’t be enough. “I don’t think any of the recommendations are going to help,” Forcella said.
And the increased money in the state pool will not give any more to Cape’s budget.
“Without bringing additional funds in, I don’t think there will be much help for towns like Cape Elizabeth,” Forcella said.
Albanese presented two budget models to the state board, each with the same bottom line but different splits between what the state pays and the cities and towns pick up.
The difference is in how the state decides what it will fund. The traditional method provides a flat percentage of a district’s past expenditure, according to Breen. There is no evaluation, Breen said, of what the money was spent on, or if it was too much or too little money for the district’s needs.
The Legislature required Albanese to explore the second model, called “essential programs and services,” to see how that would improve the educational system in the state. Some schools, it was thought, would benefit from support for basic services they now have trouble providing.
It will also provide a forum for evaluating what schools spend, in terms of salaries and services provided. Schools with very high teacher-to-student ratios, for example, would come under scrutiny in such a review.
Breen said the state currently is meeting “43 percent or so” of the grand total of education costs, but without any idea what that money is being used for, or if it could be put to better use.
Cape, though, won’t see any additional money under an essential programs review. “We already provide those services,” Forcella said.
Breen said the new funding proposal will help all districts “eventually. ”
Upping the stakes
“Essential programs will do a lot to revamp the formula,” Breen said. But districts, like Cape’s, with flat or decreasing student populations, will still get less funding each year. “A lot of those elements are still driven on a per-pupil basis,” he said.
Cape also has increasing property values, and the role of those numbers in the formula are unlikely to change.
“We will still be applying some measure of local ability to pay – local wealth,” Breen said. The way the state calculates “ability to pay” is mostly – about 85 percent – based on townwide property valuation, while the remaining 15 percent is based on household income.
Statewide, many towns will feel a pinch. The state’s overall property assessment is up 9.8 percent this year, leading to what Breen called a “significant redistribution of school subsidy. ”
Albanese’s proposals, Breen said, are attempts to “temper” those changes by averaging over three years. He also said Southern Maine is not alone in facing school funding pressure.
“Whatever the trends are in Southern Maine tend to work their way up the interstate over time,” Breen said.
The school funding formula, he said, is not the place to fix property-tax problems. “The funding formula is basically designed – and I think has to be designed – to measure the wealth of an entire community,” Breen said.
Relieving pressure on individual property taxpayers, he said, should come from elsewhere – a circuit-breaker program, for example.
With the schools, “it’s the community that is being subsidized,” Breen said, meaning that the community as a whole should be assessed.
Pressure on Cape schools is only increasing. The district is looking at continuing demand for special education services and higher standards for high school graduation coming down the pike.
“The expectations have become greater and the money has become less,” Forcella said.
Another example of spending pressure on local districts without corresponding funds from the state, he said, is the laptop program.
“It’s a great idea without any funding,” Forcella said.
Breen defended the program, saying the total package the state gave the schools, including equipment and support services, “is pretty rich.” The state is also providing free training for teachers. “The local impact has tended to be a very small fraction of what the free stuff is,” Breen said.
Because of the cost, though, Breen said, the laptop program was not mandatory. Schools could opt in or out.
He urged local superintendents and tech coordinators to contact the Department of Education tech staff as they develop cost estimates. State staff may be able to help share information between districts to keep costs low.
Despite the efforts of state Education Commissioner Duke Albanese to ease the budget crunch on local school districts, Cape Elizabeth Superintendent Tom Forcella expects this year’s financial planning to be “as tight if not tighter” than last year.
In a Dec. 18 report to the state Board of Education, Albanese proposed a 2.7 percent increase in state education spending for 2003-2004, and also proposed some changes to the school funding formula for possible discussion by the Legislature.
Among them are recommendations for averaging property values and pupil counts and expanding the “circuit-breaker” program to provide relief to property taxpayers. All of them, Albanese told the board, are “to temper the effects of changes in school funding” on districts around the state.
Districts will still feel a crunch. Department of Education spokesman Yellow Light Breen said the proposed 2.7 percent increase is “not the ideal level of funding,” and he expects it to result in “some corresponding pressure on property tax.”
This budget is “a balance, to some extent, a compromise,” he said. “It’s not going to do everything that you would have wanted.”
Even then, the small increase may not get past a Legislature armed with sharpened pencils. Breen said, “we do have tremendous support for education in Maine,” but even so, “it’s going to be a stretch for the Legislature to find the 2.7 percent.”
No more dough
If they do, it still won’t be enough. “I don’t think any of the recommendations are going to help,” Forcella said.
And the increased money in the state pool will not give any more to Cape’s budget.
“Without bringing additional funds in, I don’t think there will be much help for towns like Cape Elizabeth,” Forcella said.
Albanese presented two budget models to the state board, each with the same bottom line but different splits between what the state pays and the cities and towns pick up.
The difference is in how the state decides what it will fund. The traditional method provides a flat percentage of a district’s past expenditure, according to Breen. There is no evaluation, Breen said, of what the money was spent on, or if it was too much or too little money for the district’s needs.
The Legislature required Albanese to explore the second model, called “essential programs and services,” to see how that would improve the educational system in the state. Some schools, it was thought, would benefit from support for basic services they now have trouble providing.
It will also provide a forum for evaluating what schools spend, in terms of salaries and services provided. Schools with very high teacher-to-student ratios, for example, would come under scrutiny in such a review.
Breen said the state currently is meeting “43 percent or so” of the grand total of education costs, but without any idea what that money is being used for, or if it could be put to better use.
Cape, though, won’t see any additional money under an essential programs review. “We already provide those services,” Forcella said.
Breen said the new funding proposal will help all districts “eventually. ”
Upping the stakes
“Essential programs will do a lot to revamp the formula,” Breen said. But districts, like Cape’s, with flat or decreasing student populations, will still get less funding each year. “A lot of those elements are still driven on a per-pupil basis,” he said.
Cape also has increasing property values, and the role of those numbers in the formula are unlikely to change.
“We will still be applying some measure of local ability to pay – local wealth,” Breen said. The way the state calculates “ability to pay” is mostly – about 85 percent – based on townwide property valuation, while the remaining 15 percent is based on household income.
Statewide, many towns will feel a pinch. The state’s overall property assessment is up 9.8 percent this year, leading to what Breen called a “significant redistribution of school subsidy. ”
Albanese’s proposals, Breen said, are attempts to “temper” those changes by averaging over three years. He also said Southern Maine is not alone in facing school funding pressure.
“Whatever the trends are in Southern Maine tend to work their way up the interstate over time,” Breen said.
The school funding formula, he said, is not the place to fix property-tax problems. “The funding formula is basically designed – and I think has to be designed – to measure the wealth of an entire community,” Breen said.
Relieving pressure on individual property taxpayers, he said, should come from elsewhere – a circuit-breaker program, for example.
With the schools, “it’s the community that is being subsidized,” Breen said, meaning that the community as a whole should be assessed.
Pressure on Cape schools is only increasing. The district is looking at continuing demand for special education services and higher standards for high school graduation coming down the pike.
“The expectations have become greater and the money has become less,” Forcella said.
Another example of spending pressure on local districts without corresponding funds from the state, he said, is the laptop program.
“It’s a great idea without any funding,” Forcella said.
Breen defended the program, saying the total package the state gave the schools, including equipment and support services, “is pretty rich.” The state is also providing free training for teachers. “The local impact has tended to be a very small fraction of what the free stuff is,” Breen said.
Because of the cost, though, Breen said, the laptop program was not mandatory. Schools could opt in or out.
He urged local superintendents and tech coordinators to contact the Department of Education tech staff as they develop cost estimates. State staff may be able to help share information between districts to keep costs low.
Property manager missed tax payments
Published in the Current
Joseph H. Gallant III of South Portland, who failed to pay collected rents to owners of Higgins Beach property he managed, has not paid state or federal income taxes since 1997, according to bankruptcy court documents.
The Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service are disputing a plan Gallant filed in October to pay off his debts by selling some property he owns.
Those debts total less than $650,000, but more than $590,000, according to Gallant’s attorney, James Molleur of Saco.
The IRS and MRS are not sure what they are owed, because Gallant’s taxes haven’t been filed for 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001, court documents say.
Molleur said Gallant owes “less than the tax authorities think they are owed” in back taxes.
Several other creditors, all owners of Higgins Beach property managed by Gallant, also have filed objections to the payment plan. The property owners are concerned because they do not know how much Gallant owes in taxes. The courts typically order back taxes to be paid off before business debts.
The tax agencies’ objections, Molleur said, are more serious because “they get to the heart of whether we can do what we say we will do.”
Gallant’s plan hinges on raising money from the sale of a lot he owns at 4 Morning Street Extension, right on Higgins Beach. The land was assessed in 2001 as being worth $265,300, with a building value of $43,900.
At an auction held Dec. 13, an offer of $587,000 was made for the property by Richard Raubeson of Cape Elizabeth, Molleur said. The sale is not final until approved by the bankruptcy judge.
If it is approved, the amount still won’t be enough to pay every creditor the entire amount owed, Molleur said. “We’ll be a little short, I think,” he said. He said Gallant is “exploring other ways” to raise the additional money.
“Our goal is still to pay everybody 100 percent,” Molleur said.
Joseph H. Gallant III of South Portland, who failed to pay collected rents to owners of Higgins Beach property he managed, has not paid state or federal income taxes since 1997, according to bankruptcy court documents.
The Maine Revenue Service and the Internal Revenue Service are disputing a plan Gallant filed in October to pay off his debts by selling some property he owns.
Those debts total less than $650,000, but more than $590,000, according to Gallant’s attorney, James Molleur of Saco.
The IRS and MRS are not sure what they are owed, because Gallant’s taxes haven’t been filed for 1998, 1999, 2000 or 2001, court documents say.
Molleur said Gallant owes “less than the tax authorities think they are owed” in back taxes.
Several other creditors, all owners of Higgins Beach property managed by Gallant, also have filed objections to the payment plan. The property owners are concerned because they do not know how much Gallant owes in taxes. The courts typically order back taxes to be paid off before business debts.
The tax agencies’ objections, Molleur said, are more serious because “they get to the heart of whether we can do what we say we will do.”
Gallant’s plan hinges on raising money from the sale of a lot he owns at 4 Morning Street Extension, right on Higgins Beach. The land was assessed in 2001 as being worth $265,300, with a building value of $43,900.
At an auction held Dec. 13, an offer of $587,000 was made for the property by Richard Raubeson of Cape Elizabeth, Molleur said. The sale is not final until approved by the bankruptcy judge.
If it is approved, the amount still won’t be enough to pay every creditor the entire amount owed, Molleur said. “We’ll be a little short, I think,” he said. He said Gallant is “exploring other ways” to raise the additional money.
“Our goal is still to pay everybody 100 percent,” Molleur said.
Budgets tight in new year
Published in the Current; co-written with Kate Irish Collins
When looking forward to the new year, town officials in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough are all hoping to address some lingering issues and look at new iniatives, but there is also concern on all levels about how the state budget shortfall and proposed tax reforms will affect local municipal budget planning.
Scarborough
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the council’s Finance Committee is looking at a 3 to 4 percent increase in the tax rate.
“I think this will be a somewhat difficult budget year. There will be some ramifications that we won’t like, but I don’t think it will be as drastic as it could be in the next couple of years,” Owens said.
He added that much of the impact on the municipal budget will be from forces over which the town has no control.
Owens is also expecting the council to approve a comprehensive traffic study. “I think we’ll be looking at traffic more globally around town, not just specific hot spots like Dunstan Corner. We’ll look at how we should prepare for the future and maybe even look at constructing some new roads,” he said.
Scarborough is also gearing up for a revision of the comprehensive plan and Owens is expecting the process of creating a clear town-wide vision for the future to be wrapped up soon.
“We will then have to look at what would need to be done to realize the town’s vision and what compromises we are willing to make. Growth and development are not going to stop,” Owens said.
The town may also begin to look at encouraging the construction of more diverse types of housing – housing that would not only be available to people of different incomes, but different lifestyles as well.
“Let’s face it, all we have been building in Scarborough for the past few years are two-story colonials in subdivisions,” Owens said.
To help encourage commercial development of the Haigis Parkway, Owens said he hoped there would be some “serious marketing.”
“We need to go out and beat the drums - not just the town but SEDCO (Scarborough Economic Development Corporation) and the landowners out there,” he said. Owens added the town might want to look at encouraging specific types of businesses, perhaps in the bio-medical field, which already has a strong presence in town due to the Maine Medical Center campus on Route 1.
Owens also said that although it’s not as important as the budget or the comprehensive plan, he would like to see the town name its portion of Route 1. “I strongly feel the road should have a name other than Route 1,” Owens said.
Patrick O’Reilly, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, said the proposed Great American Neighborhood project for 150 acres in Dunstan would continue to take up the council’s time in the new year. He also mentioned a comprehensive traffic study, reviewing the subdivision ordinances and the sign ordinances and addressing on-call pay for public safety workers as being goals of the council in 2003.
O’Reilly also would like the town to clearly define its goals and set up criteria for measuring success as a way to keep track of things that have been addressed or that still need to be addressed.
“It will give us not only a historical outlook but will push our future planning,” O’Reilly said.
David Beneman, chairman of the Board of Education, said the number one educational matter facing the school district is full implementation of the state-mandated Learning Results. That will be followed by the need in 2004 for a comprehensive self-assessment system that would be used to evaluate the graduating classes of 2007 and 2008.
Beneman said the schools also will be facing a budget crunch, because the state Legislature may stop paying school districts to educate foster children, some of whom have extensive special education needs. “I’m concerned that more and more is expected and required at the local level with no funding provided,” he said.
The Scarborough schools also will focus on increasing the use of technology within the classroom and around the district.
“We need to share information more effectively and communicate better, especially with parents and students,” Beneman added.
He said that as far as school facilities are concerned, the school board is hoping to hire a contractor for the high school expansion project.
In addition, a study may look at the space crunch at the middle school and Wentworth Intermediate School.
“We are proposing a year-long study of both buildings with professional help and hope to have recommendations made on the use and viability of each school,” Beneman added.
The school department also will be negotiating three out of four union contracts in 2003, including teachers, administrators and bus drivers. “The cost of health care is continuing to get higher and higher and that is one of the single biggest fixed items in the school budget. The budget planning this coming year is going to take finesse especially because we are not sure what Augusta will do,” Beneman said.
He added that because of the state-mandated Learning Results, all subjects from physical education to the fine arts are now core subjects. “That means we don’t have much that we can let go,” Beneman said. In 2003 the school department is also expecting to enroll another 100 students, requiring additional teachers.
Cape Elizabeth
Cape Town Manager Mike McGovern said in an interview that the most significant challenge facing the town in 2003 will be adopting a municipal and school budget. “We are looking at a revaluation, declining school enrollment, less revenue sharing and a council that doesn’t want to see a tax increase,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough year. The public mood seems to be that we have been spending a lot of money and it’s time to slow down and take stock,” McGovern added. McGovern said the town has accomplished a lot in the last decade, including the construction of a new police station and a new fire station. When asked whether charging an entrance fee to Fort Williams Park would be on the table, McGovern said that everything that could increase the town’s revenue would be discussed.
He said the town will also be asked to approve some fairly significant subdivision proposals and added that the council would be reviewing the town’s sewer policy. “Right now we pretty much say no to everyone who wants to hook up, but the council and the Planning Board are looking at making the policy a little more flexible,” McGovern said.
“I think the other major challenge that all towns will be facing is what will happen with tax reform. Also the state pushing municipalities to consolidate and regionalize will be interesting,” he said. McGovern added that he doesn’t see Cumberland County government, at least, having a big role in regionalizing. “I think inter-local agreements work much better. County government is not the only answer for regionalization. County lines are not always the optimum for delivery of services,” he said.
“I really think this will be a year of reflection,” McGovern said, while acknowledging that some work will be required on both the high school and the Pond Cove School. The School Board hopes to move the kindergarten out of the high school and over to the elementary school, while bringing the high school up to date – projects that could cost as much as $9 million.
Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella is looking forward to several new developments for the schools in the coming year. The biggest among them is the school building project, which could go to referendum in May.
In March, Forcella and other Cape school officials will meet again with members of a growing consortium of schools from as far away as Clayton, Mo., and the Palisades School District, north of Philadelphia. Forcella expects the group to expand and begin really trading benchmark educational ideas and practices.
The Cape School Board also will be under a microscope of sorts when the New England School Development Council begins its study of eight “outstanding school boards” in New England. Cape Elizabeth was recently chosen as one of the boards to be studied to learn how they attract and retain “top citizens” to school board service.
Forcella said Cape was identified in a survey as a district that does well getting people involved in the board’s activities.
In the fall, the district also will conduct a broad review of its future direction plan, including all of the staff, community leaders and students to shed light on how the district is moving toward its overall goals.
When looking forward to the new year, town officials in Cape Elizabeth and Scarborough are all hoping to address some lingering issues and look at new iniatives, but there is also concern on all levels about how the state budget shortfall and proposed tax reforms will affect local municipal budget planning.
Scarborough
Scarborough Town Manager Ron Owens said the council’s Finance Committee is looking at a 3 to 4 percent increase in the tax rate.
“I think this will be a somewhat difficult budget year. There will be some ramifications that we won’t like, but I don’t think it will be as drastic as it could be in the next couple of years,” Owens said.
He added that much of the impact on the municipal budget will be from forces over which the town has no control.
Owens is also expecting the council to approve a comprehensive traffic study. “I think we’ll be looking at traffic more globally around town, not just specific hot spots like Dunstan Corner. We’ll look at how we should prepare for the future and maybe even look at constructing some new roads,” he said.
Scarborough is also gearing up for a revision of the comprehensive plan and Owens is expecting the process of creating a clear town-wide vision for the future to be wrapped up soon.
“We will then have to look at what would need to be done to realize the town’s vision and what compromises we are willing to make. Growth and development are not going to stop,” Owens said.
The town may also begin to look at encouraging the construction of more diverse types of housing – housing that would not only be available to people of different incomes, but different lifestyles as well.
“Let’s face it, all we have been building in Scarborough for the past few years are two-story colonials in subdivisions,” Owens said.
To help encourage commercial development of the Haigis Parkway, Owens said he hoped there would be some “serious marketing.”
“We need to go out and beat the drums - not just the town but SEDCO (Scarborough Economic Development Corporation) and the landowners out there,” he said. Owens added the town might want to look at encouraging specific types of businesses, perhaps in the bio-medical field, which already has a strong presence in town due to the Maine Medical Center campus on Route 1.
Owens also said that although it’s not as important as the budget or the comprehensive plan, he would like to see the town name its portion of Route 1. “I strongly feel the road should have a name other than Route 1,” Owens said.
Patrick O’Reilly, chairman of the Scarborough Town Council, said the proposed Great American Neighborhood project for 150 acres in Dunstan would continue to take up the council’s time in the new year. He also mentioned a comprehensive traffic study, reviewing the subdivision ordinances and the sign ordinances and addressing on-call pay for public safety workers as being goals of the council in 2003.
O’Reilly also would like the town to clearly define its goals and set up criteria for measuring success as a way to keep track of things that have been addressed or that still need to be addressed.
“It will give us not only a historical outlook but will push our future planning,” O’Reilly said.
David Beneman, chairman of the Board of Education, said the number one educational matter facing the school district is full implementation of the state-mandated Learning Results. That will be followed by the need in 2004 for a comprehensive self-assessment system that would be used to evaluate the graduating classes of 2007 and 2008.
Beneman said the schools also will be facing a budget crunch, because the state Legislature may stop paying school districts to educate foster children, some of whom have extensive special education needs. “I’m concerned that more and more is expected and required at the local level with no funding provided,” he said.
The Scarborough schools also will focus on increasing the use of technology within the classroom and around the district.
“We need to share information more effectively and communicate better, especially with parents and students,” Beneman added.
He said that as far as school facilities are concerned, the school board is hoping to hire a contractor for the high school expansion project.
In addition, a study may look at the space crunch at the middle school and Wentworth Intermediate School.
“We are proposing a year-long study of both buildings with professional help and hope to have recommendations made on the use and viability of each school,” Beneman added.
The school department also will be negotiating three out of four union contracts in 2003, including teachers, administrators and bus drivers. “The cost of health care is continuing to get higher and higher and that is one of the single biggest fixed items in the school budget. The budget planning this coming year is going to take finesse especially because we are not sure what Augusta will do,” Beneman said.
He added that because of the state-mandated Learning Results, all subjects from physical education to the fine arts are now core subjects. “That means we don’t have much that we can let go,” Beneman said. In 2003 the school department is also expecting to enroll another 100 students, requiring additional teachers.
Cape Elizabeth
Cape Town Manager Mike McGovern said in an interview that the most significant challenge facing the town in 2003 will be adopting a municipal and school budget. “We are looking at a revaluation, declining school enrollment, less revenue sharing and a council that doesn’t want to see a tax increase,” he said.
“It’s going to be a tough year. The public mood seems to be that we have been spending a lot of money and it’s time to slow down and take stock,” McGovern added. McGovern said the town has accomplished a lot in the last decade, including the construction of a new police station and a new fire station. When asked whether charging an entrance fee to Fort Williams Park would be on the table, McGovern said that everything that could increase the town’s revenue would be discussed.
He said the town will also be asked to approve some fairly significant subdivision proposals and added that the council would be reviewing the town’s sewer policy. “Right now we pretty much say no to everyone who wants to hook up, but the council and the Planning Board are looking at making the policy a little more flexible,” McGovern said.
“I think the other major challenge that all towns will be facing is what will happen with tax reform. Also the state pushing municipalities to consolidate and regionalize will be interesting,” he said. McGovern added that he doesn’t see Cumberland County government, at least, having a big role in regionalizing. “I think inter-local agreements work much better. County government is not the only answer for regionalization. County lines are not always the optimum for delivery of services,” he said.
“I really think this will be a year of reflection,” McGovern said, while acknowledging that some work will be required on both the high school and the Pond Cove School. The School Board hopes to move the kindergarten out of the high school and over to the elementary school, while bringing the high school up to date – projects that could cost as much as $9 million.
Cape Superintendent Tom Forcella is looking forward to several new developments for the schools in the coming year. The biggest among them is the school building project, which could go to referendum in May.
In March, Forcella and other Cape school officials will meet again with members of a growing consortium of schools from as far away as Clayton, Mo., and the Palisades School District, north of Philadelphia. Forcella expects the group to expand and begin really trading benchmark educational ideas and practices.
The Cape School Board also will be under a microscope of sorts when the New England School Development Council begins its study of eight “outstanding school boards” in New England. Cape Elizabeth was recently chosen as one of the boards to be studied to learn how they attract and retain “top citizens” to school board service.
Forcella said Cape was identified in a survey as a district that does well getting people involved in the board’s activities.
In the fall, the district also will conduct a broad review of its future direction plan, including all of the staff, community leaders and students to shed light on how the district is moving toward its overall goals.
Wish upon a stage . . . Theater-types speak up
Published in the Portland Phoenix
Maine’s theater directors and producers, full of hope and plans for the new year, are interested not only in the success of their own shows and venues, but also the arts in Maine more generally. New Year’s wishes don’t always come true, but they are worth noting.
Maine’s theater directors and producers, full of hope and plans for the new year, are interested not only in the success of their own shows and venues, but also the arts in Maine more generally. New Year’s wishes don’t always come true, but they are worth noting.
But first, a note of a response to audience wishes: Portland Stage Company will open its first January show in several years, and has chosen to put on a second family production, Triple Espresso, to complement what is typically its only family show, A Christmas Carol.
Most of the year’s wishes, however, are not yet fulfilled.
David Greenham, producing director at the Theater at Monmouth, issued a specific challenge to the Portland Phoenix: “That those who are writing and reporting on the arts take more time to get to understand what’s behind some of the arts projects they see, specifically theater.”
By providing a venue for education of audiences and the public at large about what it takes to put together a live show, Greenham said, newspapers like this one can expand the impact of theater and open arts discussions to more people. He specifically suggests that reviewers, including me, talk to directors and producers to learn more about why a show was chosen and how it was constructed for its run in Maine. Expect to see efforts to grant his wish in this space, as the year progresses.
Other wishes are not so easily granted. David Mauriello, playwright and board member at the Players’ Ring in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, has a simple one: “I wish more theater companies would work with playwrights on new plays.” His own company is doing just that, but he is right: Most theaters in Maine don’t showcase the work of the state’s strong set of writers, poets, and playwrights.
Portland Opera Repertory Theatre, through its public-relations expert Gillian Britt, has wishes both selfish and selfless. They want to be able to put on more productions throughout the year, including a full show during the fall or winter, and another during the summer festival, moving the company toward “a par with most leading summer opera festivals in the country,” Britt said.
That additional exposure would no doubt help them reach the goals they aim for in the community. PORT is looking for increasing funding for its educational and outreach programs, teaching children about opera and performing from an early age.
PORT is also looking to enrich other arts organizations in the region and throughout the state, hoping for increased collaborations with “groups such as the Portland Symphony Orchestra, Maine Humanities Council, Portland Public Library, the USM School of Music, and others,” Britt said.
Improved collaboration and cross-pollination could help non-musical groups as well: Two skilled companies working together on a production could bring audiences even richer performances and more layered experiences.
The Theater at Monmouth’s Greenham also has a wish for the people of Maine, that more of them “will discover the great theater that’s available to residents of Maine.” A wide range of theaters and companies are putting on “interesting, compelling, and entertaining works” that are better than the made-for-TV dramas broadcast in early-evening time slots. Most theater in Maine, Greenham said, “is in intimate and easy-to-get-to spaces” all over the state, not far from the comfy living-room couch.
And, he said, “the experience of seeing a live performance with a group of people around you is rich in its own way.” He has this hope for the locals: “My wish is that everyone in Maine goes to see a live theater performance during 2003. You won’t regret it.”
I will close with three wishes of my own. First, that theater companies across the state realize there are other holiday plays than A Christmas Carol. I urge them to explore the wonderful range of holidays in other cultures and traditions, as well as branching out even within the plays written by white men to, for example, It’s a Wonderful Life.
Second, that theater, at least in Maine if not elsewhere, shed its traditionally segregated mantle. I want to see more people of color on Maine stages, and more shows about the experiences of “other,” explorations of race, immigration, and cultural difference and confluence. Many ethic groups have been here for 20 years or more, and yet they find little room for their own performances, which would no doubt enthrall white audiences as much as any Tom Stoppard or Eugene O’Neill script.
ýhich blends easily into my third wish for the people of Androscoggin County to see that extending a welcome to people of all cultures remains part of what makes life in Maine “the way life should be.” Let’s see Lewiston/Auburn Arts put on a show based on the experiences of Somalis, whether in their own country, refugee camps, or after arriving in the US. Theater, culture, and politics do intersect, and, in Lewiston, as well as throughout Maine, it is time for the arts to be heard.
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