Nervous for Dixfield's future

To the Editor:

I recently heard a rumor which makes me very nervous for the future of Dixfield.

The agenda being proposed is to not replace the current town manager when his resignation date arrives, but to hire an administrative assistant and not to replace the deputy treasurer when she retires. That would be a great step backward. Under our current town manager, we have seen many improvements in the way Dixfield does business. Policies are current, morale among employees was high, utility departments have seen steady improvement, an engineer has created a priority list for highway and street work, sewer lines have been mapped (access no longer a guessing game), assessment of those lines was done in order to predict problems and be pro-active in their maintenance, the water system is working well and is on a prioritized schedule for replacement of pipes in conjunction with street repair work (currently, North and Pine Streets), not to mention Dixfield’s financials and record keeping are excellent.

Is the town perfect, no, but it’s far and away in better condition than it was. This is in no small part due to our current town manager. I am very sorry to see him resign after working with him the last several years. He researches issues, offers solutions and follows through with execution once the selectmen have made a decision based on the best interest of the town. Dixfield needs the services of a town manager and I’d like the current one to stay on the job.

Norine Clarke,

Dixfield