Based on what I can see about Bangor it should be an easy search......send a recruiter to the nearest school for funeral directors! This place is DYING!

Fasten your seatbelts folks - -here they go again blindly spending money without consulting voters. What do you bet that they get $35K into this and decide that they want to hire internally.

Tommie- You must be thinking of Lewiston. This is Bangor, we are a growing community. We have not stop growing for quite some time. Dying means to stop growing. That's Lewiston, Augusta, Waterville. Just thought I would correct your typo for you.

Bangorian- I also wish that they wouldn't bother paying for a search, but as long as it is under $20,000 I think it will be alright if they pull in someone with high desire for growth. We don't want to lose that. Barrett's tenure was pretty good, but I would like to think their 'new vision' will be the next gear.

They so obviously don't have the ability to judge whether an applicant would make a successful manager. These clowns need help - and they're getting it. I don't know whether Bangor residents should clap hands or cry.

And, for the poster who thinks Bangor is a really happening place and Augusta, Waterville, and Lewiston aren't growing: do you ever leave Bangor? Get on the freeway and check these other towns out; they have more to offer than Bangor. Bangor has a mall and that's about it.

The Lewiston area, in particular, has more manufacturing than the whole of Penobscot, Arrostook, and Hancock counties put together. These other towns kick Bangor a$$ in so many ways it is laughable to state otherwise. Bangor is the lowest income city in Maine.

Correction: the deadline for the Recall Committee to gather 2,286 valid signatures is MARCH 2, 2010. Anyone wanting to sign can find petitions at the City Clerk's office in City Hall (open 8 am to 4:30 pm) or at Recall Headquarters, 30 Central St. across from Bagel Central (open 1 pm to 6 pm everyday but Sunday. Jim Elmore

elmo67 - So what are we up to on the signature count?

“My challenge is to keep people focused,” Stone said. “Sometimes we get off topic and need to be reined back in toward the same goal.”

Once again, proof positive that these idiots have no idea what direction to go in and are still chasinf their tails.

Cary, mustard, kethcup, and relish on that tie?

Yep, Bangor WILL have to pay for a search for a replacement for Ed Barrett, because unless the good people of Bangor recall those councilors, it will be highly unlikely there will be any "stampede" of qualified professionals applying for that position.

Terence, a typo? I think not!

Per Capita Income by County:

County Person Household

1 Cumberland County $23,949 $44,048

2 York County $21,225 $43,360

3 Lincoln County $20,760 $38,686

4 Sagadahoc County $20,378 $41,908

5 Knox County $19,981 $36,774

6 Hancock County $19,809 $35,811

7 Androscoggin County $18,734 $35,793

8 Kennebec County $18,520 $36,498

9 Penobscot County $17,801 $34,274

Know_It_all:

It's great to see what lines make it to the public forum :)

I've heard many speak to the $50,000 number and I wanted to make it clear that the process will not go near that - in fact what I actually said was I want to make sure the cost doesn't approach HALF of the $50,000 or I'd eat my tie. It's important that we engage in professional resources to find, interview and qualify the right candidates but not with an open checkbook.

For the record - I'm not a relish guy:)

On 12/9/09 at 7:30 AM, Maine_iac wrote: elmo67 - So what are we up to on the signature count?

we're doing good, but today i'd just be guessing. check back here tomorrow afternoon and I should have a fairly reliable estimate.

Mr Weston - as the newest member of the council, I think you're probably less enmeshed in the politics of that body than anyone (at least for now). Given that, I think we're really counting on you to help get this body back on track. In terms of spending $25000 on a recruiting firm - I understand the need to do it. I just don't think its a good idea to do so until the city has clarified it's 'vision' for the new person. Thus far, that 'vision' has been developed outside of the publics eyesight. When can we expect an open discussion about what the agenda's are in developing this new vision?

Bangorian - I think your comments are fair and on target (at least for now) :)

Here's my honest answer: the council made a PR mistake when it said "we have a new vision" at the time it announced Mr. Barrett's retirement. The natural follow up to that statement is "what is the vision". In fact, as a candidate attending the news conference that day in city chambers, I asked that very question.

What I've learned since is that there was no shady dealings, hidden secrets or conspiracies involved in the handling of Mr. Barrett's retirement. Question: could it have been handled differently? Yes. Do most on the council wish for a do-over on how it was announced? Most definitely. Should the end result have been different? Probably not. As a member of the council, I have to respect the majority decision regardless of which side I'm not - I may not like the result but I have to respect the process. It's the same process that gets councilors elected and it's the same process we trust to conduct business.

Does the council have an image problem - yes. Are we working to move forward with actions over words to correct that? Absolutely.

Now - to your point. You most likely read a story by Eric Russell a couple weeks ago about the vision session that we had at Wellman Commons. I must say, my expectations for that night were low and that was based on my previous interactions with the council regarding the vision / direction conversation.

What happened that night was above anyone's expectations - including my own. It was a very very positive session in which most of the issues that could be seen as "dividing" the council were discussed and worked through to a point of which I was very proud to see.

The vision statement was crafted based on goals, expectations and a direction for the future we felt was the right way to do - to move our city forward and start focusing on results over process.

The qualifications for a new city manager were discussed and outlined and I must say are quite comprehensive.

We have one more working session on this topic and I believe it's tomorrow night (I'm without my schedule as I type this). I expect following that session, we'll craft a statement to be signed by all nine councilors and submit it to the media as well as the city's website as the first step of the public conversation.

I will share with you that without exception, each and every councilor feels there needs to be a re-energized focus on economic development. I was very pleased with that outcome. It's the heart of everything we do and needs to be near the top of the list.

So - I went on longer than I expected but the bottom line is this:

I have see some great collaboration following what is considered by most a poorly handled situation from the start. I have seen a glimpse of what should become a very positive working year. I have also seen a number of things inside city hall that need many more questions asked in order to understand. We're doing that now (ref: Folk Festival, Golf Course, etc)

My belief is it's not good enough to keep doing things because that's how they've always been done. We should be doing things to get the best result and not just to follow procedure and protocol.

I'll share my thoughts as we go through this at my website as we go and though I do not wish to become a blogger - I do feel that public dialogue is important and necessary. I'd also encourage anyone that uses Twitter or Facebook to communicate with me that way as well.

All those details are listed at the city's website: http://bangormaine.gov/cg_cc_councilors.php

I'll do what I can and I look forward to the public process.

So, they are spending our tax money (in this economy) to replace someone that was by all accounts doing a very good job. Sounds like a proper respect for the taxpayers. Does anyone think that this recruitment firm will be a local one??? My guess is some out of state firm. I'd vote for keeping Mr. Barrett and letting him operate the city without a council for awhile. I'm betting he could save us much more money.

OK - Thank you for your candor Mr. Weston. I can tell you that I follow Bangor politics more closely than many - when meetings are televised, I'm often watching them. I have been dismayed by this whole process - it seems to be confirming my fears that much of Bangor's work is conducted either behind closed doors (or even worse, at the SeaDog bar). I need to see Bangor's business being conducted openly and council members willing to state their views outside of executive session, before I'll feel better. During the recent past, we've seen an awful lot of hidden agendas (Mr. Barrett & the election of the council chair are the two most obvious) - we need leadership, not back room dealings.

If they can select a Firm, why is it too difficult to select a replacement themselves? I hope Brewer doesn't need . a Firm to find a new fire chief.

This is their new direction? Hope the taxpayers have deep pockets.

Recall petitions are available for signing at the City Clerk's office in City Hall.

Idiots - now I will be sure to sign recall papers!

Gratwick stated in his letter on October 29th that "Bangor prides itself on having an open, accessible and transparent government with options and decisions openly debated and voted upon"... "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." To me it seems that some of the older members actually pride quite the opposite, which to me has been proven by their own actions, and is unacceptable. The lack of transparency has done exactly what Gratwick has said... Undercut the legitimacy of the council. Their continuing actions of dogging what the people want to know, and the obvious showing by the people that they went the wrong way, shows to me that we the people of Bangor need to give them their "review" like they do for Barrett... Yet I believe that the people of Bangor would agree with me that it is NOT a good review... Why else would their be a drive to have them recalled... And I feel that should continue... I also feel that the council should release the information from that "executive session" so that we may judge for ourselves what they did was right or wrong... I also feel that if they do not, then it shows that they still want to hide behind smoke, mirrors, and closed doors. Question... If a employee a normal company was keeping secret from their boss, and the boss found out... What do you think would happen to that employee?

Do you people realize we are living in the hub of the most economically depressed, welfare supported region of Maine? If it were not of UMO anything north of Augusta would be irrelevant?

Let's see now, Councilor Weston will eat his tie, if the cost even approaches the $50,000 figure. OK Councilor Weston, I have several tie's, however, which do you prefer the long, or the bow tie? Larry T. Doughty, South Brewer, larrytdoughty@yahoo.com. www.ourstory.com/larrytdoughty/

Ease up Larry.... I feel you should eat your tie and them some on some days.