Beleaguered councilor still a City Hall fixture Greene’s recorded voice greets after-hours telephone callers

BANGOR – Despite his legal problems with the city, those who call into City Hall’s automated telephone system after business hours can still hear the sonorous voice of City Councilor Richard Greene.

Greene was tapped to be the voice of City Hall when Bangor installed a new telephone system in 2004, according to city Finance Director Debbie Cyr. And for his efforts Greene received two checks totaling $750 in May and July of that year for “professional services for recordings,” Cyr said.

Call City Hall after hours and Greene’s voice will greet you: “Good evening. Thank you for calling Bangor City Hall. Our office hours are from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. If you know your party’s extension, you may dial it at any time during this message,” he says.

“To look up a name in the employee directory, press 9, or during regular business hours, press zero to reach the operator. Thank you.”

The payment to Greene for his voice and services was authorized by former city Purchasing Agent Dave Pellegrino, who retired and moved to Florida at least a year ago.

“In this case, he probably wouldn’t even issue a [purchase order],” Cyr said, given the relatively low dollar amount.

“I don’t know what arrangement was made [between Pellegrino and Greene],” Cyr said. However, she recalled the city’s thinking at the time was that, given the new system, the message callers heard should be “consistent and professional.”

The work Greene was hired to do involved developing a script for the messaging system, accessing the administration system and recording messages that instruct callers which buttons to press to access other parts of the system, including individual employees’ extensions, Cyr said.

Greene’s council profile that appears on the city’s Web site notes that he “has a background in broadcast journalism, and worked for Maine Broadcasting for 111/2 years as a director/producer of the 6 and 11 news, and evening supervisor.”

Despite that, it appears few, if any, other Maine municipalities have hired professionals to make voice mail recordings.

“That’s quite a little gig,” Nicole Clegg, communications director for the city of Portland, said when asked if that city would pay someone to record telephone system greetings.

In Portland, she said, “It’s done internally. There’s no additional compensation. It’s often handled by personnel within specific departments.” She said, however, that some staffers, including a woman who works in the legal office and another from the city clerk’s office, frequently are called upon because they have particularly pleasant-sounding voices and are comfortable with making recordings.

It was the same for Brewer.

“We wouldn’t pay anybody extra to do that,” Brewer City Manager Stephen Bost said Wednesday. He said that voice recordings such as the one Greene made were handled internally by existing staffers as part of their regular duties.

Though Greene was arrested last month on a misdemeanor charge of forgery and is scheduled to appear Thursday in 3rd District Court in Bangor on the Class D misdemeanor charge, he officially remained a member of the City Council this week.

While still hearing Greene’s voice in the city’s phone system has surprised some, including at least one former council member who declined to comment publicly, there currently are no plans to change that because the city is waiting to see how Greene’s legal matter is resolved.

“Nothing’s happened yet, legally,” Cyr said.

Neither Cyr, City Manager Edward Barrett, council Chairwoman Susan Hawes nor other members of the council are commenting on any aspect of Greene’s predicament because of the legal issues surrounding his Jan. 10 arrest for submitting to the city an invoice on which he allegedly forged the city manager’s signature.

According to documents filed in District Court in Bangor, the invoice sought payment of $9,000 for “usage fees” for the nine mayoral portraits displayed in City Hall, which had been photographed by Greene, who owns and operates Klyne Studio.

Greene, 51, was released from Penobscot County Jail on his own recognizance on the day of his arrest. He is scheduled to appear today in 3rd District Court in Bangor on the Class D misdemeanor charge, though his attorney, Marvin Glazier, might stand in for him.

Bangor City Hall can be reached by calling 992-4299.

dgagnon@bangordailynews.net

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