Satisfaction with the Plan in Surrounding Communities
This document is reprinted with permission from "The Manager Plan in Maine" published by the Margaret Chase Smith Center for Public Policy. Copies of the complete book may be obtained by calling the Center at (207) 581-1646.
The geographical distribution of Maine manager plan adoptions throughout the state demonstrates how the manager plan developed in clusters of communities. An investigation into the circumstances surrounding the adoption of the manager plan in these cases shows that a representative from a nearby town already using the plan was often invited to speak at a public hearing on the effectiveness of the manager plan in the nearby community.
Newspapers serving several communities also helped to spread the concept of the manager plan by reporting successes in towns which had adopted the plan. In the midst of the depression, Presque Isle citizens could not help but be impressed by a small story in the local newspaper:
WASHBURN CLOSES YEAR WITH SURPLUS
The town of Washburn ended its second year under the town manager form of government with a substantial net surplus. It is interesting to note that the poor account had a large unexpended balance. The expenditures per capita in this department were less than they have been for many years, despite the fact that it has been called upon more than ever before.
The proposed 1933 budget is approximately one-third less than for 1932 (Forster, 1933).
At the same time that Washburn was observing a surplus in 1932, Presque Isle was faced with the possibility of closing its entire school system for lack of funds, if other town services were to be maintained. In that dire situation, the success of Washburn may have loomed large in the minds of the Presque Isle voters when they adopted a manager form of government.