Two Dresden residents claim to have enough signatures to force a recall of Selectmen Allan Moeller and Dave Probert.
Wiscasset Code Enforcement Officer Rick Lang and his wife Wanda Lang officially filed the petition moments before the Board of Selectmen held their regular meeting Dec. 5.
The Langs say they have just short of 100 signatures. A minimum of 86, or 10 percent of the total voters in the last gubernatorial election, is needed to be valid.
The petition drew a larger than normal crowd to the Board’s meeting. Insufficient space within Dresden’s Town Office forced some to stand outside.
Town Clerk Kim Rzasa must certify the petition with 10 days. Should the petition be ruled valid, a recall election must be held in no sooner than 30 days and no later than 60.
If any selectmen are recalled, a special election would have to be called to elect new members of the Board. According to Administrative Assistant Trudy Foss, each election will cost the town $500.
Rzasa, however, questioned the validity of the petition, saying that she had received calls from town residents claiming they were pressured into signing. She also suggested the town tighten its rules for recalling public officials.
In an interview after the board meeting, Wanda Lang denied pressuring anyone to sign her petition.
“I told each person that if they didn’t feel comfortable signing they didn’t have to,” Lang said.
Many of those present at the board’s meeting criticized the Lang’s recall petition. “It makes me sad that we’ve reached this point, that we haven’t reached an agreement,” one person said.
“This is ridiculous,” said another. “I think they’re doing a heck of a job.”
This comment met with applause. No townspeople at the meeting spoke in favor of the Lang’s petition.
In a statement given at the opening of the public comment portion of the Board’s meeting, Rick Lang said the Board had committed a “grave injustice to the residents of [Dresden]” by failing to end its CEO-sharing arrangement with Richmond.
Lang asserted that Dresden’s new CEO and Licensed Plumbing Inspector, Ryan Chandler, was uncertified and therefore unqualified to hold the two posts.
“We are paying [Richmond] almost $28 per hour plus benefits…for an uncertified code officer and plumbing inspector,” Lang said.
Lang accused the Board of entering into CEO-sharing agreement with Richmond quickly and improperly, claiming the town advertised for only four days in three locations.
Lang also reprimanded the Board for failing to address a perceived conflict of interest in Moeller’s duty as both selectman and overseer of the town’s roads. While all three selectmen are tasked with overseeing the town’s roads, Moeller, as Third Selectman, assumes several functions characteristic of a road commissioner.
The Conflict of Interest Law, as stated in the MMA Municipal Officers Manual, determines conflict of interest to be “whether the municipal official by reason of his interest, is placed in a situation of temptation to serve his own personal pecuniary interest to the prejudice of the interests of those for whom the law authorized and required him to act.”
Moeller receives some extra pay for work he performs on Dresden roads. In a payroll summary for Sept. 26 and Oct. 6 provided by Lang to the Board at their regular meeting Nov. 7, Moeller charged $17.50 per hour for ten and nine hours of work respectively.
Lang did not accuse Moeller of any improper dealings with the town.
Moeller said he does the roadwork mostly out of love for the town and that he frequently underreports the amount of hours he works.
“I do more work than the hours I put in,” he said.
Moeller conceded, however, that Lang raised a valid point and that the Board would consider creating a Road Commissioner position in the upcoming year.
Dresden previously had a Road Commissioner, but the position was removed to save money.
Lang ultimately demanded the Board cancel its CEO/LPI sharing agreement with Richmond and stop all alleged conflict of interests in the town government.
“It is time to put residents’ safety first, and honesty and clarity back into local government,” Lang said.
This was the third meeting in a row that Lang raised such concerns with the Board.
First Selectman Phil Johnston, the only member of the Board to not be threatened with a recall, responded angrily to Lang’s statement.
“I don’t understand your motives, nor am I interested in giving you a platform,” Johnston said.
Johnston said that the Board had taken Lang’s concerns seriously since he first spoke in early November. At their meeting Nov. 21, the Board categorically rejected Lang’s assertions that Moeller had a conflict of interest in his duties.
A Maine Municipal Association legal opinion from attorney Richard Flewelling supported the Board’s conclusion.
In an email to the town, Flewelling said Maine law authorizes arrangements like Moeller has with the town. He suggested, however, that payments to an individual selectman be placed on separate warrants and voted on by the remaining two selectmen.
The board also dismissed Lang’s concerns regarding the new CEO/LPI, stating that they were in compliance with state regulations regarding properly licensed CEO’s.
Chandler, though unlicensed, is currently undergoing training. Dresden received a six-month waiver from the state, absolving them of the need for a licensed CEO/LPI for that time frame. The six-month window will supposedly allow Chandler to become fully licensed.
Dresden recently reached an agreement with Richmond to share its Code Enforcement Officer and LPI. The town will pay the new officer $27.50 per hour for five hours of work per week and half of his training expenses. The previous inspector was paid $20 per hour for 10 hour of work per week.
Dresden’s contract with Richmond lasts until April 2012. The selectmen offered to raise the issue again when the contract expires.
The Board claims that sharing Richmond’s CEO/LPI has saved the town $2500 this fiscal year.
“I don’t understand why we can’t put this issue to rest,” Johnston said. “We’ve done our due diligence.”
