Bangor’s leaders should take note of Brewer’s example

Praise is deserved for Brewer city officials and Bangor Daily News reporter Toni-Lynn Robbins for their sensitivity in the handling of the tragic suicide death that occurred last month at Brewer City Hall. The BDN article’s closing paragraph included the following quote from Brewer Mayor Michael Celli: “I want Brewer to be known for the way its people help each other out. We can have all the Lowe’s [stores] in the world to change the [economic] face of Brewer, but I want to change the personal face of Brewer.”

In a later talk with me, Mayor Celli elaborated upon his philosophy concerning public service and interpersonal relations in general. The conversation left me feeling greatly impressed, both with the mayor’s humility and his caring. (And knowing other Brewer officials, like City Manager Steve Bost and City Clerk Archie Verow, I can attest that caring is a concept that is well-practiced at Brewer City Hall.)

Another thing I was struck by was the contrast in attitude between these public servants and many of those in service right across the river here in Bangor.

Regionalization issues

Brewer officials consistently have reached out to team up with Bangor on things such as the joint purchasing of fuel oil and asphalt. But Bangor city officials, according to Mayor Celli, choose to ignore these cost-saving overtures. Celli says it wasn’t always this way. In the past, for instance, he and former Bangor Mayor Mike Crowley successfully forged arrangements that resulted in yearly savings of $55,000 for the taxpayers of Brewer. He estimates that Bangor’s savings, considering its greater scale of purchasing, had to have been in the neighborhood of $100,000 or more.

Economic and community development issues

It’s widely perceived that Brewer’s recent success in attracting quality business development is due to its superior marketing and networking efforts. Contrast this with Bangor, which – though certainly not without its own development successes – has also wasted hundreds of thousands of dollars on unnecessary auditorium studies and subsidies to a now-defunct professional baseball team. Meanwhile, the long overdue push for a modern civic center is just now under way. (Had it moved forward even just five years ago, the cost savings to Bangor taxpayers would have been substantial.) Similarly, we continue to see smaller communities throughout the state steal opportunities for development of such things as a soccer complex – which in Bangor’s case is much needed – for our kids, as well as for the revenue such investments could bring to the local economy.

Public health and safety issues

The Bangor Police Department lacks checks and balances. As it is, if the chief decides there is no issue, then there is no issue. It just doesn’t exist, because there is no independent, objective arbiter. This is a dangerous situation: lethal force, with no independent oversight. It’s a tragedy waiting to happen. Correction: Many failures have already occurred. You perhaps just don’t hear about them because there is no mechanism to detect them. Unless, that is, the officers get caught – slashing tires, for instance. The Bangor City Council certainly isn’t going to provide the necessary oversight. (Just as, with the support of former Mayors John Rohman, Nichi Farnham, John Cashwell and Frank Farrington, it refused to properly investigate the school committee election fiasco. Such inaction serves neither our children nor justice and is an embarrassment to our community.)

When an elderly woman from Bangor was run over by a tractor-trailer, city officials placed all the blame on the federal government. Contrast this with Brewer’s response to the recent tragedy there: City officials are challenging themselves to do everything possible to prevent any such future suffering. They aren’t passing the buck. They are taking ownership of the problem. And they don’t let their firefighters go multiple years without contracts, as Bangor has done.

Education issues

Our forebears didn’t hire expensive consultants to prove that our teachers deserve less in our contracts with them while spending well over $200,000 per year on salaries for a superintendent and vice superintendent. They also believed in supporting an open and diverse educational environment, not undermining it through nepotism, secrecy and disdain for citizens’ rights.

This all needs to change. Bangor city officials might try actually talking to teachers, parents and (here’s a novel idea) children, regarding their perception of public services. What good are the often-quoted academic excellence statistics if they fail to measure that which is most important to our children’s development – their self-esteem and happiness?

The city of Bangor is blessed with many honest and gifted citizens, reporters and public officials. Even though those less responsive reporters and officials with whom we have interacted have made our lives more difficult, we appreciate them, in that they share this community with us. For in truth, we are all in this together. Kudos to Michael Celli and to the city of Brewer for realizing that every citizen is worthy of positive regard, representation and assistance. Perhaps if Bangor’s leadership would take Brewer up on its offers of partnership, some of that positive regard and accountability might rub off. We can only hope.

For, as Mayor Celli understands: We can have all the folk festivals, United Way campaigns, state-of-the-art police stations and children’s museums we want; but if we aren’t respecting the basic health, safety, educational and constitutional rights of every citizen, then we are failing ourselves, and future generations.

Thomas Mooney is a resident of Bangor.