Budgetary Attrocities

Our Selectmen have requested $100,000 in the "other professional services-Legal line item, in the Town's operating budget. The line was funded at $10,000 last year, and was promptly overspent by $70,000 by our spendthrift BOS.

A little history is in order here.

This line was added to the budget by the budget committee last year at the request of the selectmen, because Primex had dropped the town's insurance coverage over the ongoing lawsuits, and the selectmen knew that a new insurer would not accept liability for the ongoing case, which was being wrapped up at that time. They asked for $10,000 to wrap up the Artus case. Now, that case is long over, we have a new insurer, and the selectmen want this line INCREASED to $100,000, WHY?

Fred claims it is for "the lawsuits coming down the pike", but THAT feeble excuse doesn't hold water, because any new lawsuits would be covered by our new insurer. In addition to the insurance, we pay Town Counsel $42,000 per year to defend the town. SURELY between the insurance, and our town counsel we can handle all these future mythical cases coming down the pike?

And what ARE these mythical cases, Fred cites? In the last five years the Town has been in court constantly, ALL over Phil Consentino's abuses of authority. There was the ethics case brought by Mark Acciard in 2005, which resulted in the Court ordering Phil to recuse himself form any selectmen's meetings that were delaing with police, elderly affairs, or town employee issues. Phil ignored the Court's Order, as we are sure every good law abiding chief law enforcement officer would do, right? and the Court then found him in Contempt of Court, and ordered him to now LEAVE the ROOM when those issues were being discussed, since he failed to follow their order the first time. Phil Ignored this order as well, preferring to spend MORe of the taxpayers money to appeal to the Nh Supreme Court. They dismissed. Then there was the Grant case, You all remember THAT one, Phil fresh off his Court Order to leave the room when police, elderly, or town employee matters were being discussed, sat in his selectmen's chair, when Carol Grant, came in to read a short statement about Phil's verbal abuse towards her in the lobby of the Town hall, Thus violating the Court's Order once again. he slammed his hand down on the table ROARING to the officer's he had directed Russ to call, to "GET HER OUT OF HERE". The officers dutifully evicted Carol, Her husband, and her wheelchair bound son out into the cold winter night, without even allowing them to stop and put coats on. This resulted in the Grant case, which after two years was settled with the payment of $30,000 to the Grants. Then there was the Acciard civil rights case, which dealth with phil's diatribes in publis official town business meetings, his letters to Acciard on official stationary threatening action, verbal threats in public, following him and his family through town, and other abusive actions, 3 years, and over $100,000 in legal fees later this case was merged into the Artus case. This new one over Phil calling elderly people that signed petition warrant articles and screaming at them "why did you sign this shit?"

So it is fair to say that if they want to cut legal costs they need to get phil to retire. It would save the town hundreds of thousands in legal fees and settlements.

And true to form, the budget committee, did not question the validity of the line, but began haggling over the amount! THE LINE SHOULD NOT EXIST! IT'S PURPOSE HAS BEEN FULFILLED! The question needs to be asked WHY DO YOU REALLY WANT $100,000?