The more I thought about this, the more amazed I became.
Tenges is paid $85,000 by the taxpayers of Lower Nazareth (see the League of Women's Voters site). One of his jobs was to complete a revised web site for the township. Funds were allocated last year, but the site has not been completed.
The issue was raised by Greene while defending himself at the meeting and the minutes reporting the citizen attack note:
Mr. Tenges recognizes the importance on the website and stated that it is close to being done, but is not quite completed. The fact that it is incomplete, Mr. Tenges admitted is his fault, but stated that unfortunately other issues take priority;So, the paid worker can't complete the web site project, but the citizen who takes the time to fill the void by creating a site, paying the domain addresses, paying the hosting, and not being paid for his service can get it done and is attacked for doing so.
Plus, I found out from Joe Greene that every document on his site that has "approved" stamped on it, he had to pay for. LNT charges .25 per page. Four page document, one dollar (and you should see the number of documents on the site and archive).
And, because LNT wants its citizens to have this information, in addition to the fee they charge, you can't just stop in and pick them up. You must officially request the documents (they do allow email requests) and they are typically ready in two to four business days.
Given all that, during the attack Tenges, despite his own inability to complete a responsibility of his job, takes exception with Greene for not posting more official documents on his site:
Mr. Tenges questioned why, if Mr. Greene is working for the good of the residents, he doesn’t ask for items such as the Fire Company Report.One day, I hope, LNT will embrace open-government and let the light shine in.
Sing with me Timm:
3 comments:
Again, as a resident of LNT, I want to say "Thank You" to "Mean" Joe Greene. Please keep up the good work at keeping us informed. funny, you are doing a much better job than the guy getting paid $85K a year.
Timmy, as I know you are reading this, take a major clue from this latest post.
YOU WORK FOR US, the citizens of LNT.
The First Amendment allows us to say, both complimentary and critical, pretty much anything we want as long as it doesn't include libel/slander or jeopardize national security. So shut up.
My question to you, is why after almost a year, you haven't been able to do something as simple as giving us a website that was worth anything.
Jack Welch, the former CEO of General Electric (and quite successful I might add), said that an employee should be able to complete the work allocated to them in a forty hour week. If they can't, they are either understaffed or incompetent.
Being that you haven't asked for additional staff, and Joe has managed to do what you have not been able to in a very short amount of time at a considerably lower cost, one can only assume that you are the latter.
Do us all a favor and resign so we can hire someone with more competence and that doesn't attack the same citizens that pay your bloated salary.
I've posted before, and I'll post again. We own property in "Nowhereville, Maine," a half hour drive from the nearest "town," which is at the very end of Route 95 in the U.S. We have 68 acres of woods, no electricity, no water, no phone. Yet, our town of Amity (pop. 199) has a great website (www.amitymatters.com), where we can read the Selectmen's minutes and news, look up documents, and view the tax records for every property in the town. Granted, life is a bit slower in Maine, but if they can get it done, I don't see why someone who is paid 85K can't do the same. Oh wait, I forgot to mention that the former Town Manager was a crook who tried to steal $10,000 from the town and is now in prison, awaiting trial in December. The website is kept up by volunteers who feel that they are providing a necessary service for the citizens of Amity.
Ross,
I just wanted to take a minute to compliment you for this follow up story concerning Mean Joe Greene. As you mkae very clear, he does quite a bit of volunteer work to inform the public about Lower Nazareth Tp, going into much greater detail than either one of us. It really is a public service.
Tenges, who is the paid public servant, seems to have things the other way around. He's been township manager an awful long time, perhaps too long. It appears that he does not like prying eyes, but should welcome constructive criticism.
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