Selectmen Issues: April 2009 Archives

Terenzini said. “I’m not convinced that this kind of work fits the bidding process,”...

“I understand Carter’s requesting that we not go out to bid, but for that amount of money, we should go out to bid,” said Selectman Betsey Patten.

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The Meredith News April 9, 2009 

SARAH SCHMIDT

SSCHMIDT@SALMONPRESS.COM

MOULTONBORO — The town will be moving forward with a compensation and personnel

system evaluation for town employees this year, but the selectmen decided last week not to put the comparison study out to bid. Town Administrator Carter Terenzini introduced Thornton Associates as the prospective company to perform the evaluation on Moultonboro. Thornton Associates performed similar evaluations, comparing towns, salaries, benefit packages, and policies for Meredith and Wolfeboro. The final price for the evaluation comes to $11,950 and would be complete in three months.Terenzini said that it was cheaper than the offer from the Local Government Center and would take less time. “I understand Carter’s requesting that we not go out to bid, but for that amount of money, we should go out to bid,” said Selectman Betsey Patten. “It’s also a company based in Maine - perhaps we should look for something closer to home.” Selectman Karel Crawford noted that the town had attempted to do an in-house evaluation several years ago. The process was “daunting,” and did not compare benefit packages, which she said she was interested in comparing. Terenzini noted that the company would also compare Moultonboro salaries and benefit packages with private sector companies. “By going out to a third party, it lends some credibility,” said Advisory Budget Committee Chair Jean Beadle. Crawford said that she was comfortable with going with Thornton Associates. Terenzini suggested that this work could use a bid waiver. Thornton Associates was already familiar with the Lakes Region after performing comparisons in Wolfeboro and Meredith, Terenzini said. He noted that in finding towns to compare with Moultonboro was difficult, since the company would be looking for towns that compare in terms of complexity, rather than size. Among other factors, Moultonboro’s seasonal populations are a consideration to take into account, Terenzini said. “I’m not convinced that this kind of work fits the bidding process,” said Terenzini. “They (Thornton Associates) have a good knowledge of the area, and they’re able to do it in a fairly quick timeframe. We can put it out to bid, but that would spend another six weeks doing it. I’m not convinced you’ll get a better price.” Selectman Joel Mudgett said that he had heard Meredith was happy with the company’s work. Patten voiced her opposition in not bidding, and Selectman Ed Charest said that he had a few reservations of his own. In the end, the selectmen voted 4-1 to approve hiring the company, with Patten dissenting.

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To the editor, Laconia Daily Sun

April 7, 2009

Moultonborough government continues to lose transparency and citizen participation with a recent Selectboard decision, starting with the April 9, to start meetings at 7 p.m. Public input will only be allowed at the beginning of the meeting and at the end of the meeting. This procedure will not allow for public discussion of the review and approval process for new business, old business and correspondence

• They already do not read all the correspondence that the public sends every week.
• They already do not have an openmeeting with the public every week.
• They already do not have a meeting every week in the summer.
• They already discourage the public airing of an unedited selectmen’s meeting because of an oppressive and complicated cable TV access policy.
• They already demand 50-cents for copies of documents while the library charges 15-cents.

What’s next, no public input at all?

Al Hume

Moultonborough