Greenville man booted from budget panel

GREENVILLE – A Greenville man was upset to learn this week that he’d been dismissed from the Piscataquis County Budget Advisory Committee for having failed to attend the first budget meeting on Oct. 6.

Richard Gould said Monday that he received a letter on behalf of Commissioner Woodrouffe “Tony” Bartley of Greenville notifying him that he had been replaced by Alan McBrierty of Greenville. He said the letter will be discussed with commissioners at their meeting Oct. 21.

“I thought that letter was extremely unprofessional and discourteous,” Gould said. “It made me feel really disappointed because I have dedicated an awful lot of my life to public service.”

He noted that his public service included 21 years on the Greenville Board of Selectmen, 10 years as a Maine Legislator, and four years on the school board.

Gould said Monday he was unable to make the first meeting because of a prior appointment in Bangor that lasted longer than anticipated. He said he did not call to say he would be unable to attend, nor did Bartley or Commissioner Eben DeWitt call later to find out why he was absent.

Eben DeWitt, chairman of the Piscataquis County commissioners, said Monday that the three commissioners are responsible for appointing representatives from their districts to serve on the committee. The decision to unseat Gould was made by Bartley, who made the initial appointment.

Bartley said Monday that he took the action to remove Gould after hearing at the Oct. 6 meeting that Gould had not attended the budget meetings last year. He said he relied on that second-hand information, since the commissioners do not attend advisory committee meetings after the introductory session.

If Gould had a valid reason why he was absent and had attended last year’s meetings, Bartley said his appointment would be reinstated.

“If this was a misunderstanding, then we’ll straighten it up,” he said Monday. “I feel that Greenville should be represented at every meeting.”

Gould, who was serving the second year of his current term, said he had been present for most of the meetings last year and was especially vocal at those meetings in his support for economic development funds.

Those few meetings he did miss were because of conflicts with his position on the Greenville School Committee, he said.

Gould said the commissioners were aware when he was appointed to the budget advisory committee that there could be conflicts regarding meetings between the two boards.