March 28, 2024
BANGOR DAILY NEWS (BANGOR, MAINE

Houlton Council OKs order to hire management consultant

HOULTON — The Town Council at its meeting Monday night approved an order that will allow the town to hire a municipal-management consultant.

The move was prompted after controversy developed early last month when the council failed to confirm Town Manager Allan Bean’s appointments of Milton Cone as the town’s fire chief, and Darrell Malone as police chief.

After a public outcry, the appointments were confirmed two weeks later. At that time, people urged the council to act on facts rather than rumors and innuendo.

Cone has been the town’s fire chief since 1986, while Malone has been with the Police Department for 34 years.

Councilors have thought that there were problems in the fire and police departments, as well as the ambulance service, which Cone also directs. Because they are not management experts, however, they decided that an outside consultant could provide the information they need to gain a better understanding of how those, as well as 11 other municipal departments, operate.

The order approved Monday night also asks for alternate bids so that if the cost to review all of the town departments is to too great, the review can be modified to involve fewer departments.

“We’re leaving ourselves an option,” said Council Chairman Paul Romanelli, who added that regardless of how many departments are reviewed, the scope of the project will remain the same.

The consultant hired by the town will be asked to look at the organizational structure of the departments, salary structure, qualifications criteria for positions within those departments, morale, performance evaluations and complaint resolution, as well as provide a plan of solutions that would include projected costs and savings.


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