To pay or not to pay

OTISFIELD - When to pay a bill and when to refuse was the dilemma faced by selectmen last week.

What brought them to discussing the subject was a bill from the attorney representing the town in a lawsuit. The lawyer's itemized list of his activities on the town's case included about 15 minutes of his professional time in a phone conversation with one of the town's opponents in the suit. Not the plaintiff's lawyer, but one of the plaintiffs had made the call to the town's representative.

When Hal Ferguson, chairman of the board, questioned the lawyer about the charge, he was told the conversation was very brief, "about two minutes," and wasn't solicited by the attorney, nor was he given prior authorization to confer with the plaintiff in that particular manner.

Selectman Lenny Adler said the town should not pay for that particular action by the lawyer.

"It would set a precedent," Adler observed.

"But let me point out that there are a lot of calls we make to him to ask questions, some of them quite involved, that he doesn't bill us for," remarked Selectman Rick Micklon.

Ferguson acknowledged both of his colleague's points, but pointed out that the charge could have been hidden in a different category and pass unnoticed.

"We're talking about what, a tenth, maybe two-tenths of an hour?" Ferguson noted.

Nevertheless, Ferguson agreed with Adler, regardless of precedent, that the bill was for an activity - talking to the opposition directly, at the instigation of the caller - without the town giving prior authorization in that particular circumstance.

The board directed Administrative Assistant Marianne Izzo-Morin to deduct the questioned amount from the payment.

In other business, the selectmen acknowledged that adjustments to improve access to the town offices would be made and the state would foot the bill. After a routine inspection earlier this year, the  Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions had ordered modifications to the ramp banister, which was the wrong height, and the door into the building, which was too had to open. An interior door required a different type of door handle. Izzo-Morin noted that the state officials said the bureau would pay for the renovations.

While Adler was opposed to paying the attorney's fee, he was in favor of the town offering money to a resident who hadn't asked for it, and his colleagues agreed with him.

Ferguson brought up the subject of a citizen's complaint about used tires that were dumped near her property, on a little-used road. She had told the selectman that she and her husband had, over several years, picked up the trashed tires and hauled them to the transfer station themselves, paying for them to be disposed of properly. Now, however, people still dump tires there, but the couple can't physically keep on with the clean-up work. She asked the selectmen to "do something." 

"Unfortunately, there's not much we can do to prevent it," said Adler. "But if she can show that she paid for the tires to be taken, I think the least we can do is reimburse her."

The other selectmen agreed and Izzo-Morin directed to so inform the lady.