jScYinuaf^ o9 Town of Qortiayn J^ew J-Carnpsfiire Incorporated 1836 Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2011 with funding from Boston Library Consortium IVIember Libraries http://www.archive.org/details/annualreportofto2009gorh 'tabCe of Contents AV Home Care Services 91 Tax Rate Chart 9 AVRRDD 92 Tax Collector's Report - MS 61 40 Assessing Department Report 69 Tax Rate Calculation 24 Auditor's Combined Statement of Town Budget for 2010 - MS-7 16 & Revenue Expenses 28 (colored pages) Auditor's Report - 2008 26 Tovwi Clerk Financial Report 39 Balance Sheet - 2008 30 Town Directory 133 Budget Committee Report 71 Town Forest Account 69 Carbon Monoxide Bulletin 76 Town Forest Report 72 Conservation Commission Report 72 Town Hall Renovation Project Report 89 Election Results 126 Town Manager's Report 4 Emergency Management Report 73 Town Manager's Retirement 6 Emergency Medical Services Report 74 Town Officials 1 Executive Councilor Report 94 Town Warrant for 2010 - 10 Exemptions Available to Taxpayers 135 (colored pages) Expenditures Report 55 Treasurer's Report 39 Family Resource Center Report 93 Trust Funds - Trustees Report 66 Fire Department Report 75 Vital Statistics - Births 129 Forest Fire Warden and State Forest 87 Vital Statistics - Deaths 131 Ranger Report Vital Statistics - Marriages 130 Fourth ofJuly Committee Report 76 Water Department Budget 101 Fund Balance 25 Water Department Expenses 109 General Fixed Assets Report 46 Water & Sewer Commission Report 97 Grants 2009 68 Water & Sewer Equipment Inventory 114 Historical Society Report 95 Water & Sewer Outstanding Debt 113 Joint Loss Management Committee 78 Years ofService 5 Report Zoning Board Report 90 Minutes ofTown Meeting ofMarch 115 2009 Operating Expense Chart 49 Planning Board Report 79 Pohce Department Report 85 Public Library Report 83 Public Works Department Report 80 Recreation Department Report 81 Revenue Report 50 Sample Ballot 8 Sewer Department Budget 106 Sewer Department Expenses 111 Statement ofAppropriations 43 Statement ofOutstanding Debts 45 Statement ofRevenue & Taxes 46 Assessed Summary Inventory ofValuation for 32 2009 -MS-1 1 Town & OjficiaCs Staff Board ofSelectmen Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 201 Term Expires 2012 Yves Zornio, Chair Paul Robitailie TerryOliver Town Manager William H. Jackson DirectorofFinance& Administration Denise M. Vallee Director ofAssessing DianeLabbe Fiscal/Administrative Assistant MichelleLutz Tovm Clerlt/Tax Collector Grace E. LaPierre Deputy Town Clerk/Tax Collector SusanEnman Town Treasurer DonaldKing Recreation Department JeffStewart, Director Senior & Adult Program Coordinator DebraOuellette Emergency Management Heather Mortenson, Director Police Department PJCyr, Chief Sgt. BrianLamarre Sgt. Jennifer Lemoine Officer William Daisey Officer Mark Santos Officer Geoffrey Bardeen OfficerZach Howry Aux. OfficerThomasEdgerton Aux. OfficerTobey Reichert Dispatchers AmyGirard, Supervisor SophieLaughton Susan Dorval JacobDevoid MarandaMorency Shelli Fortin CatherinePelletier DianeBouthot Public WorksDepartment Austin "Buddy" Holmes, Director HeatherMortenson, Office Manager JoeRamsey, Foreman Francis Dalphonse, Mechanic Roland Blais, Highway FredCorrigan, Highway/Parks Peter Dupont, Highway Denis Martineau, Highway Karl Daisey, Sanitation Keith Paradis, Cemetery/Highway John M LaPierre, Highway DaveRich, Sanitation Dan Lapointe, Sanitation 11 Town & Officials Staff Emergency Medical Services Karen Eichler, Director Shawn Costine, AssistantDirector TerryO'Neil, Assistant Director Paul Gagne Lt. Tim Harmon Gary Vaillancourt Jordan Carrier Liza Burrill Skid Baillargeon Diane Holmes SonyaRich Mike Pelchat WandaTanguay Kelly Demers Ryan Leighton Keenan Hatch William Graham Cagney Hatch Luc Corriveau George Corriveau HeatherBosa Cathy King William Davenport Fire Department George "Rick" Eichler, Chief WallaceCorrigan, Assistant Chief Warren Johnson, AssistantChief Clinton J Savage. AssistantChief Retired ChiefArthurTanguay Retired ChiefRaymond Chandler Dana Home. Captain PaulNault, Captain FF Wilfred "Skid" Baillargeon Lt. Paul Gleason Lt. Shawn Costine Lt. ArthurPerry FF Justin Mosher ClerkNorman Demers Secretary JanetCorrigan FF RobertCote FF Arthur Marchand FF DenisFoumier FF William Watson FF MauriceBelanger FF Rick Demers FF Victor Aubut FF Douglas Gleason FF Paul Gagne FF Nathan Corrigan FF Derek Palmieri FF Chad Miller FF KarenEichler FF HeatherBosa Lt. FrankRamsey FF ErniePillion FF Michael Pelchat LT. Normand Laganiere FF SteveGagne FF John Sheets FF Patrick Sanschagrin FF StephanieKennedy FF Brian Lariviere FF KaleighTessier FFAdam White FF Phil Cloutier FF Curtis Leeman Water& Sewer Department David Patry, Superintendent Jessica Jacques, Office Manager Richard Leveille Kurt Johnson Brian Rivard JeffTennis Derek Croteau Water & SewerCommissioners Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 201 Term Expires2012 Ted Miller Lee Carroll, Chair Roger Goulet Library Elizabeth Thompson, Director Valerie Lapointe PeggyLaperle PauletteChambers Christopher Davies MarandaDemers Bruce Pfendler Jackie Tetreault Theresa Martineau LibraryTrustees Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2011 Term Expires 2012 Alternate Andrea Philbrook, Chair Heather Reid Gail Wigler Rufus Ansley CleaningPersonnel ElaineNormand Mildred Murphy Trustees ofthe Trust Funds Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 201 Term Expires 2012 JanetCorrigan DorothyFerrante PriscillaBlackburn, Chair 1 Town & Officials Staff ZoningBoard Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2011 Term Expires 20K Alternate Wayne Flynn, Chair Thomas Dyar PJCyr Keith Roberge Suzanne Whitehouse Gerald Marcou PlanningBoard Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2011 Term Expires 2012 Alternates Mil<e Waddell MikeGuay Lawrence Guay BrunoJanicki George "Barney" Valliere Daniel Buteau David Graham WayneFlynn Paul Robitaille, Selectman's Rep. Budget Committee Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2011 Term Expires 2012 Julie St. Germaine Mark St. Germaine John Losier John LaPierre Joann Lakin Francis Bruni TinaLaPierre Walter Wintturi TerryOliver, Selectman'sRep Joint Loss ManagementCommittee Denise Valiee Skid Baillargeon PJCyr Francis Dalphonse Rick Eichler Buddy Holmes William Jackson Kurt Johnson DianeLabbe Brian Lamarre Heather Mortenson TerryO'Neil David Patry Elizabeth Thompson Shawn Costine SueEnman JeffStewart Conservation Committee Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 201 Term Expires2012 Steve Malespini DonaldMuise Mike Waddell Walter Wintturi Michael Peichat Forest ManagementCommittee Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2011 Term Expires 2011 Ted Miller Mike Waddell Glen Eastman LeeCarroll SteveMalespini Supervisors ofthe Checklist Term Expires 2010 Term Expires 2012 Term Expires 2014 Joan Bennett DorothyFerrante Janice Eastman North Country Council Regional Transportation Committee Paul Robitaille William H. Jackson Androscoggin Valley Regional Refuse Disposal District YvesZornio Glen Eastman Town Manager's "Report As I write this final report to you as your Town Manager, I looked back over 10 years ago to see what I had written in2001. The following is fromthat report: "2001 appears topresent challenges to us all. There has been a change in Washington, a slight realignment in the legislature in Concord and the economy, which has been chargingfull-steam, appears to be slowing down. Heating oil prices are up 30% - 40% over last year (which was up over the year before). Health insurance costs continue to climb andthe source competition continues to dwindle. There are now two basic suppliers ofhealth insurance in the State ofNew Hampshire. We continue to lookfor ways to control costs but the underlyingproblem is that theproduct (health care &prescriptions) cost too much. Any efforts that wemakejustshifthow it ispaidbutno one is dealingwith howmuch it costs!" An old proverb states, "The more things change, the more theystay'the same. " As I look at what I said back then and compare it with today the onlything I would change is thatthe economy having plummeted has now skidded to a crawl. 2009 was theyearthatyour Town Government worked hard at providingyou thetaxpayers with those services that you wanted and then were informed bythe Statethat we would have a massive loss in expected revenues tothe Town of$322,500.00! WhileNew Hampshire continues to rank #1 Nationally in per capita tax impact, weare still required to pay propertytaxes twice a year. Currently, that makes our national ranking similar to a statement that a '"yellow" Ferrari is cheaper than a "red" Ferrari. This begs the question, "Who can afford a Ferrari no matter what color it is?" I remember many years ago (16 or 17) a floor fight atthe Seabrook, NH Town Meeting overtheirtaxrate which ifI recall was around $3.50 perthousand! The point beingthat no one likes topay taxes. Wheretheproblem really begins is when people cannot affordtopay them....andthat is where weare nownationally, state-wide and locally. The loss ofbusinesses andjobs (nationally and locally) has forever changed us. Inthe longrun itwill change what we do and how we do it. Thosechanges needto be arrived at with careful thought about all the residents ofour Town and notjustto "get a headline". That discussion will need to look not only at what we don't want local government to do anymore, but the costs and other impacts associated with government doingthe service versus residents paying for the servicethemselves. The people ofthis community are very resilient. This has been proventime andtime again when faced with any adversity. The current economy will be no different and inthe end 1 predict thattheTown Manager's Report in 2021 will not reflect the conditions of2001 or 2010. In conclusion, I sincerely wanttothank all ofthe residents ofGorham, the members ofthe Boards of Selectmen and, ofcourse, my very important Staffand Department Heads for makingthe last 15 V2years a special part ofmy life. Sincerely, William H. Jafekson years ofService Three individuals from the Public Works Department and two fromthe Fire Department have met milestones in their years ofservice with the town. Firefighter Arthur Marchand was recognized for 50 yrs. ofservice to the Gorham Fire Department. Art is very active on both the Gorham and Shelbume Fire Department. Over the years, Art has become an excellent pump operator and can operate any ofthe fire apparatus in Gorham and Shelburne. Art also maintains the Gorham fire apparatus with weekly checks making sure each piece is ready to respond. I Karl Daisey began working for the Town ofGorham on December 4"^, 1984. Karl is a lifelong resident ofGorham and has worked in the Sanitation Department on the back ofthe garbage and recycling trucks. Even in inclement weather, Karl can be seen on the back ofthe trucks and has been doing so for 25 years. ^iai^is>'-yi^'js^^^^ Austin "Buddy" Holmes began working for the Town ofGorham on January 24i"t"h, 1994. Buddy too is a hfelong resident ofGorham and began his career by driving the Sanitation and Recycling trucks, then moved onto the Highwaycrew and remained there for several years. He then became Foreman and after three years, was hired as the new Public Works Director. In total. Buddy has worked for the town for 15 years. Denis Martineau began working for the Town of Gorham on September 1^' in 1999. Denis resides in Berlin and his career with the town began on a part-time basis. He moved into a frill time position and can be seen filling in on the Sanitation crew and he drives the sidewalk tractor during the winter. Denis has a background ofworking in the woods, so when there's a tree in town that needs to come down, Denis is our man. Denis has worked for the town of 10 years. Rick Eichler celebrated his lO' anniversary as Fire Chiefon January 1, 2009. Rick has earned his certification as Firefighter III, specializing in trench rescue and confined space. Rick is a hazmat technician and is team leader ofthe North Country Emergency Response Team. Rick is an EMT-B. He NH is a past president and currently is treasurer ofthe State Firemen's Association. Rick also works as the building inspector and the public health officer. . Town Manager Retirement William Jackson has served as Town Manager since October 3, 1994 and retired from fbll-time service to the Town on December 3 2009. When he arrived from Derry, 1, he quickly realized that Gorham was a special place with special people. He has served the Town with /ntegrity and has been an excellent Leader for our community. He is a Loyal and dedicated manager and has represented the Town, the Berlin-Gorham area, and its residents with /ntelligence and always with their best interests at heart. His Ability to bring people together, to facilitate discussions and to bring attention to the issues we face here in the North Country made him the perfect Town A/7anager for Gorham. Those ofus who were privileged to work with Bill know how /-/umorous he can be. He has eased many a situation with a wittyjoke and can always bring a smile to our faces. It has been a remarkable w/oumey and Bill's Achievements are too numerous to list here. He has lead with Conviction and managed his employees with fCindness and concern. Bill always assisted us when needed and took our balance between work and family life into consideration. We thank Bill for his dedicated Service to the residents ofGorham and forthe Outstanding job he has done as Town Manager and as our boss. His retirement is certainly a /Voteworthy occasion and he will be sorely missed at Town Hall by us all. We all wish you the best and hope that you will relax and enjoy your retirement with Germaine to the frailest. We'll see you around town.. -^ 1 i