Photo courtesy of Geoff Gratwick Councilor, Geoff Gratwick

I respectfully and profoundly disagree with the decision of the majority of my fellow councilors to request the retirement of City Manager Ed Barrett. I question the basis of their decision and wish to make my questions part of the public record. I invite the citizens of Bangor to reflect on the following important issues:

The City Council exists to further the interests of the citizens of Bangor. We must adhere to the law and have many fiduciary responsibilities that involve both financial matters and the public trust. By law, our deliberations and decisions are open to the public. In those instances where we go into Executive Session to protect the privacy of certain personnel matters and other topics, we remain bound by the highest ethical and legal standards; we are constrained from making decisions in private, thus ensuring that we operate with transparency to the public. Nothing that follows comes from information presented at our Executive Sessions.

It appears that the majority of the council feels that Bangor needs a “new direction and vision.”

No one can fault this general idea. One’s reaction, however, ought to depend on the direction and vision proposed. The Council should insure that the “new direction and vision” evolves publicly and transparently, through proposals, counterproposals, interviews with staff, articles and editorials and commentary in the media, and citizen participation through hearings, attendance at meetings, and letters to the editor and council members. One’s reaction also ought to depend on the proposed speed of implementation and the proposed means, including resources and processes, to be used.

For a quarter of a century Bangor has been moving in new directions — purposefully, methodically, thoughtfully — under the leadership of its elected officials and the steady management of Mr. Barrett. As is always the case in such situations, success is due to the combined efforts of the Councils that have served during this period, Bangor’s 500 municipal employees, and many others. However, just as an army needs a general — Eisenhower gets much credit for the success of the Normandy invasion although it was not he who landed on the beaches — Bangor has needed someone to mobilize her resources. A partial list of the new directions on Mr. Barrett’s watch include:

Financial stability: The city has been restored to financial health, has a balanced budget, an excellent A1 bond rating, and has entered the current recession in good financial health — an enormous advantage in these troubled times.

Infrastructure: Bangor has a new police station, new Fire Station No. 6, adequate roads, slowly improving sidewalks, and a thriving airport. Information Technology and a new city phone system promote efficiency.

Public Safety: Bangor is the second safest city of its size in the U.S. There were only four major structural fires in 2008-9. The fire department has transitioned its primary function from fire suppression to emergency medicine, both providing improved service to the public and reducing pressure on our budget through generating new revenues.

Quality of Place: Bangor is a leader in adopting the Creative Economy as an economic driver. Thanks to a new vision for and rebirth of our downtown, the City Forest, Bangor Trails, waterfront redevelopment, and other factors, Bangor appears in national surveys as one of the most livable communities in the US.

Economic Development: Bangor is a leader in the area of “asset based development.” The city is promoting that which is within its control as an inducement to business. Good roads, education, public services, our natural environment and open spaces, and our work force make Bangor an attractive spot for small businesses. Hollywood Slots has brought new jobs and new revenue, including over $6 million now available in a reserve fund for replacing the Bangor Auditorium.

Mr. Barrett, along with others, was deeply involved in negotiating the agreements that brought this about and obtaining the 1 percent state tax that comes to Bangor as the host community. Thanks to Mr. Barrett’s urging that the Council move forward with an updated marketing and sizing study, plans for a new arena are poised for proper economic timing. The city has recently received between $4 and $5 million in American Relief and Recovery Funds largely because the City was well positioned to immediately undertake $3 million in stormwater projects. These funds, when combined with other sources, including grants the City has received for projects at the waterfront and airport, have allowed the city to undertake between $15-20 million in capital projects this year, projects that have mitigated the negative impacts of the recession.

Environmental Improvements and Federal Mandates: The city has upgraded our wastewater treatment plant, implemented a Combined Sewer Overflow program ($30M), is addressing our impaired streams ($7-10M), has remediated numerous contaminated sites including our waterfront and the site of the Shaw’s supermarket on Main Street, is cleaning up the Coal Tar spill on the waterfront ($8M), and may potentially avoid a $10 million upgrade to the Water District’s treatment plant at Flood’s pond (the latter due in part to Mr. Barrett’s careful reading of the regulations). The Honeywell project, spearheaded by Mr. Barrett, has reduced the City’s overall energy and emissions footprint and will produce long-term cost savings.

Ongoing: Mr. Barrett is currently working on how the city can weather potential revenue shortfalls due to the recession and the possible effects of Tabor 2 and the auto excise tax repeal should they pass. He has been deeply involved with the Special Committee on Comprehensive Planning as it works to develop a new plan based on today’s realities and anticipated future trends, including future increases in energy prices.

In general it is the City Council that provides the “new direction and vision” and the city manager works to implement these ends. In order to understand the instructions that the council has given over the last five years to Mr. Barrett I reviewed his employment evaluations with his permission in the office of the Assistant City Manager, Bob Farrar. These include multiple reviews of job performance as well as goals for the coming year. Mr. Barrett has consistently received ratings between “acceptable” and “commendable.” This year, 2009, is no different from previous years. There have been no noted major deficiencies, no critiques of goals not met and no warnings. Quite the contrary: most comments have been uniformly positive.

Bangor prides itself on having an open, accessible and transparent government with options and decisions openly debated and voted upon. If a majority of the City Council desires a “new vision” for Bangor and to go in a “new direction,” I would ask them to be specific about their desires and communicate them to the city manager, their fellow councilors, and the citizens of Bangor.

Without this communication citizens of Bangor will be excluded from a vitally important process. Any new manager that we might choose — or that might choose us — will be operating from the outset under a severe handicap. Likewise, fewer citizens will be interested in serving our community on the city council or elsewhere if they come to believe that important decisions are being made out of the public’s view. The lack of transparency invites questions as to the precipitous nature of this “new direction” and undercuts the legitimacy of our City Council in the eyes of Bangor’s citizens.