Breaking News: Majority of Citizens do not want a Separate Orono Fire Department
Breaking News: Majority of Citizens do not want an Orono Fire Department
During the 3/11/24 Orono City Council meeting, Orono Council member Alisa Benson presented a tabulation of the citizen comment cards. Calculations show that 26% were for the fire department, 60% were against the fire department and 11% had more questions regarding fire service.
Is Mayor Walsh creating a Circus at the Orono Golf Course?
What a difference a year makes. Last year a golf league was fighting to keep Pickleball courts and a Hockey Rink out of the Orono Golf Course. Now, they are planning on building their own extra large private picnic shelter apparently for themselves. Is this a clever move by Mayor Walsh in order to push forward development in Orono on public land again?
A Grand Opening without a Public Hearing Ever Held?
The Orono Duplicate Fire Department has been a huge debacle. First Walsh blames Long Lake whose Fire Chief was Van Eyll and then hires the same Fire Chief for the Orono Fire Department. Has anyone mentioned it’s the same guy? Or that maybe the same issues will travel with him? Or that this move along split the department?
Then Walsh says he’s running “the budget on his intuition” presumably because he doesn’t want the Citizens to know it’s going to cost tens of millions for what will be unproven and possibly unsafe service.
Is Year after Year Deficit Spending the new way in Orono?
2024: What happened to the Park Fund?
In the past six years, the Orono City Council has spent over $1.2 million on park capital projects creating a $500,000 deficit by the end of 2022. This deficit spending will have to be made up by levying additional money each year in order to get the fund back to zero in 2025.
What kind of fiscal management is this? Why can’t this Mayor and his majority on the council spend within the fund limits? Why do special interest groups get their park projects considered while the Orono taxpayers have to pony up each year to fund their ideas?
Court testimony reveals Firefighters not responding to a Heart call
The headline from today's Evidentiary hearing…
ORONO FIREFIGHTERS MADE A DELIBERATE CHOICE NOT TO RESPOND TO A HEART CALL DURING AN ORONO FIRE BUSINESS MEETING ONE BLOCK AWAY FROM THE INCIDENT.
Today in court it was revealed that on January 2, 2024, Orono Firefighters were attending a business meeting at Orono City Hall. 1.5 miles away a handful of Long Lake Firefighters and Chief Heiland were attending the Long Lake City Council meeting.