HOULTON, Maine — A movement to restore funding to the town’s community development department was resurrected Monday evening after several citizens implored the town council to revisit the matter.
At the crux of the issue was a decision by the council to reduce the town’s community development department from $55,850 to $47,075 when it passed a $10,399,677 municipal budget for 2015 on Jan. 20. That department features one employee, Nancy Ketch, whose salary makes up about 93 percent of the entire department.
Ketch was hired last December to be Houlton’s community development director and grant writer, succeeding Lori Weston. Prior to her position with the town, Ketch worked at the Department of Health and Human Services and before that, was employed by Maine Revenue Service in Houlton for 14 years. She also has an extensive history with Houlton, and in particular its downtown economy. From January 1987 to September 1999, Ketch was the executive director of the Greater Houlton Chamber of Commerce. She was also involved as the marketing director for Houlton’s Downtown Revitalization Project back in 1987.
Ketch did not comment at Monday night’s council meeting and has yet to publicly state her feelings on the matter to members of the council. She declined to comment when contacted by the Houlton Pioneer Times Tuesday morning.
During the open public comments section of Monday night’s meeting, resident Sue Tortello read a lengthy statement on the subject.
“I respectfully request you reconsider the action taken at the 2015 budget public hearing that reduced the appropriation for the community development department by $8,775,” Tortello said. “Cutting the budget by this amount is essentially cutting the salary. This salary was negotiated in good faith and under full disclosure. We feel the town entered into an agreement and should honor its obligations.”
Tortello urged the council to use its authority to direct Town Manager Butch Asselin to transfer funds from other accounts in the budget to fund the community development department at $55,850. By transferring funds from other accounts, such as the town’s surplus account, the bottom line to the budget would not be impacted.
Tortello is one of five individuals who took out a petition last month hoping to force the council into action. The town’s charter allows for budget referendum petitions to be filed within seven calendar days after council’s adoption of the budget. Other members of the petition group were Debra Clark, Elizabeth Anderson, Phil Hathaway and Lori Holmes. Those individuals did not speak at Monday’s meeting.
To be successful, the petitioners’ group needed to collect 374 signatures — 10 percent of the registered voters who participated in the most recent election — by Jan. 27. That group fell short of its goal, collecting 303 signatures.
“Although it was not enough to proceed with the petition process, we were convinced this level of support and made us believe that people appreciated this point of view and they supported it,” Tortello said. “The overwhelming sentiment is in favor of taking the high road on this issue and to re-instate the funding. Not doing so will hurt the town. We want to be a town known for its integrity.”
She stated not honoring the salary agreement could come back to hurt the town by creating a negative ripple effect that could have a very long reach, such as leading to a decrease in applicants for future job openings and a reduction in the number of bids the town may receive for various projects.
Tortello said proper procedures were followed to determine the community development director’s salary. Tortello was a member of the hiring committee that unanimously recommended Ketch for the job. The salary was then negotiated between Asselin and Ketch in the amount of $52,000.
In comparison, Weston’s salary at the time she left was $44,465. She was employed in that position for about three years. Prior to her, Wade Hanson, who is now the council chairman, was the town’s economic and development director for about three years at a salary of $43,260.
During the Jan. 20 budget meeting, several councilors objected to the department’s total figure, which was about an 18 percent increase over the previous year. Councilors Phil Cloney, John White, Jane Torres and Matthew Carr voted in favor of the total budget Jan. 20, while councilors Dan Peabody and Brent Dickison opposed it.
Tortello said there was no opposition voiced to the department’s cost when it was initially presented Nov. 10, nor was there any opposition on the several occasions where the budget was reviewed in a line-by-line fashion during the budget process.
“We strongly believe this (restoring funding) is in the best interests of the town,” Tortello said. “As a united group, we are adamant that doing nothing and leaving the budget as it is, would be detrimental to the town of Houlton.
“We appeal to you to take this action,” she added. “We are very firm in our conviction that it represents the will of your constituents and is in the best interests of the town.
Resident Rosa McNally also asked the council to support the request, stating it was a “black mark” on the town.
“This is a high level position with a lot of responsibility,” McNally said. “When you do not get paid properly and other people see your skill level, you will get courted (by another business). We have had turnover in this position and will continue to see turnover if it is not funded well.”
Resident Fred Grant also spoke in favor of the measure.
“I applaud the council for the fiscal responsibility you have put forward on an ongoing basis,” Grant said. “The unanticipated impact of reducing the community development department is that while you gain fiscal responsibility, it does impact the hiring process moving forward. It could become unstable in the future.”
Resident Phil Bernaiche said he signed and supported the petition.
“This should pass,” he said. “It looks like a jiggy-jiggy deal. Don’t blame the town manager … blame the council. We elect councilors and expect them to do the will of the people.”
During councilor remarks, Chairman Hanson attempted to get a consensus vote from the council to restore the funding for the department. Councilor Torres, however, suggested that vote be postponed until there was a full board present, as councilors Peabody and White were unable to attend Monday’s meeting.
The next regular council meeting is slated for Monday, Feb. 23 at 6 p.m.
