To the Editor:
It is difficult to quote individuals accurately, and certainly it was more arduous than usual to quote any of the participants in the March 9 Newcastle Board of Selectmen’s meeting.
The article in the March 11 edition of The Lincoln County News states the following: “In addition to the $198,000 Newcastle voters approved the selectmen to borrow for Taniscot, there was up to $70,000 to fund ‘unbudgeted major expenses,’ available in undesignated capital reserve accounts, selectman Pat Hudson said.” (“Unrest erupts in Newcastle over Mayers’ claim of legal impropriety,” page 1)
This is not accurate.
I actually read Article 7 from the 2008 Newcastle Town Warrant, which gave the selectmen the authority to “take all the necessary steps to facilitate and complete said addition.”
I concluded this with a statement that Article 7 gave the Board of Selectmen authority to take $70,000 from the capital reserve account set aside specifically for the new town office to complete the addition The town’s auditor (not accountant), Ron Smith, and the town’s attorney, Peter Drum, both agreed that my statement was correct.
Preparation for the articles which I wrote for The Lincoln County News in early 2008 regarding construction of the new town office made me well aware that over $90,000 was available in that specific account.
I refer your readers to the article on the highway budget and the town office funding that the Board of Selectmen submitted for this edition of the newspaper. It not only explains the funding of the town office, but it describes what is planned for Newcastle for road work in 2009.
Pat Hudson, Newcastle
