Is Orono hiding niche development because the Citizens don't want it?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

Is Orono hiding niche development because the Citizens don't want it?

City of Orono - where is our Public Information?

Lack of transparency, and suppression of information helpful to the citizens continues to plague this city council. One example is how the city council minutes have now been restructured to leave out public statements and other pertinent details that occurred during the meeting. Orono citizens are being actively suppressed from making their own determination on how their city is being run.

Another recent example is the 2/6/24 Park Commission meeting that was supposed to be broadcast and recorded. It has now disappeared entirely from the public record as of this posting.

Read More
Is Mayor Walsh creating a Circus at the Orono Golf Course?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

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?

Read More
Is Year after Year Deficit Spending the new way in Orono?
Barbara Schmidt Barbara Schmidt

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?

Read More