Councilman's Column by Jesse Alber

Fewer Handshakes -- More Signatures One of the pleasures of small town life (most of the time) is that everybody knows everybody else. For the most part, we trust our neighbors and the other members of our community. Business is often conducted with no more than a firm handshake or a gentleman's agreement. We trust our instincts, upbringing and our experiences when we make business decisions. The bonds between friends tend to make contracts and policy & procedure manuals seem alien to the small towner. The City of Blue Hill has gotten away with a completely inadequate set of personnel policies and procedures to date simply based upon the quality of the individuals we have been blessed to have working for our municipality. However, we cannot expect to be so fortunate forever, and the council has started to take action to develop a comprehensive Policy Manual for Municipal Personnel. Countless hours have been devoted to the mundane discussion of the exacting wording of specific phrases in the proposed 17 page document over the past three council meetings. The manual discusses everything from maternity leave to bereavement leave, from equal opportunity to grievances, from overtime to vacations, from drug use to military service and from health insurance to sick leave. It is a sobering reminder of the world we live in, where every detail must be put in writing and every contingency must be thoroughly planned for. I applaud the work that the Mayor and my fellow council members have put into this chore. This manual is way past due and their efforts to scrutinize every detail will be a great benefit to the city in the long run. I will miss the "good ole days". Electrical Shock I have spoken with numerous individuals who dropped to their knees and clutched their chest when they read their utility bill this month. The council had approved a 10% electric rate increase recently and the pain could be felt on the very first billing cycle following. My own bill was so high, it came with a stewardess ..... brrrrrrumpumpum!!! Only a portion of the shock was attributable to the rate increase. The dog days of summer has had our air conditioners and ice makers working overtime the past couple of months and electrical usage has nearly doubled since just a few months ago. The discomfort of the higher rates, however, were an unavoidable necessity as the city's electric rates and administrative, maintenance and distribution costs continue to rise at a rate much more rapidly than we are comfortable passing on to the customers. Despite the pain we feel this month, Blue Hill still enjoys utility rates that are very favorable when compared to rates in surrounding communities. I hope that recent budgetary modifications can help to ensure that the need for future rate increases are eliminated or kept to a bare minimum at the least. I also feel that our current budget places the city in a strong position to continue to keep our tax request modest.