A Bangor Daily News article about The Forks Plantation caught our eye earlier this month, and we cannot stop thinking about it.
To boil the situation down to its main points, the plantation is at a standstill due to conflict between residents and the elected board of assessors. According to the article, the situation originated in July 2022, when an independent auditor found the board did not follow proper procedures for handling taxpayer money, which, to be clear, is inarguably bad.
Fast-forward to this summer, when the board voted twice to delay its annual town meeting and election while also scheduling special meetings to discuss the municipality’s “dysfunction,” according to the article.
At a special town meeting in July, residents voted 14-4 to reject an article to expend $147,000, a quarter of the plantation’s budget from the previous year, over the next 90 days to keep the town in operation until the new budget was approved. Residents then voted down nearly all budget articles at a special town meeting at the end of August.
The town is effectively shut down. The assessors – who, again, were found to have improperly handled taxpayer money and should resign – are unable to function as public officials, and the town’s 48 residents are unable to complete basic things, like registering vehicles.
Now, we don’t have a correspondent in The Forks, and this situation is likely so complicated we could waste barrels of ink on trying to worm out all the details.
That said, here’s our 100-mile-away take.
If we were a town official whose actions have derailed the operation of the municipality because the residents have lost faith in our ability to make sound, unbiased judgments and manage their money, we would resign.
If we were part of the 29.2% of the population that is keeping things at a standstill, we’d be sure that if the town official(s) did resign their post, we’d elect officials to govern as well as become part of the solution, rather than drawing up everyone’s valuable time with a sole focus on own personal grievances.
And if we were one of the 30 residents who have not been involved in these goings-on thus far, we’d be at the next meeting attempting to suss out what are the facts on the ground and what’s unnecessary conflict due to dynamically opposed egos.
Like we said, we’re sure our opinion means nothing to the fine folks in The Forks. It’s just sad to see people let conflicts fester and prevent a municipality from moving forward with basic services.
However, we do hope all of us can learn a lesson from this situation. Elected and appointed town officials have a duty to work on behalf of the people they represent, and doing so in a transparent and respectful manner should not cause a lack of trust.
As citizens, we also have a responsibility to be present and informed of town matters before voting. By being present at meetings of the town, asking questions, and reporting on the facts helps hold officials accountable, while informing the public at the same time.
To close on a local note, we sure hope Alna finds a solution to its Pinkham Pond predicament soon. Five months and several select board meetings is a long time to spend on some unpermitted gravel.
