The Rumford BOS Moving Towards Regionalization with Mexico Again

It was announced at the April 17th Rumford Board of Selectmen's meeting that Chairman Greg Buccina would like to approach Mexico Town Manager, John Madigan, and the Mexico Board of Selectmen to see if Mr. Madigan would be interested in working as a part-time Town Manager for the Town of Rumford. The Rumford BOS have been discussing the idea of regionalization for quite some time now and feel that this would be a perfect opportunity once again to broach the subject. They are also still very interested in approaching Fire Chief Gary Wentzell of the Mexico FD to perform part-time Chief duties for the Rumford Fire Department. Again, this would be a perfect opportunity to "regionalize" our services.

Mr. Madigan would be perfect for the job. He has years and years of experience, he once worked as the Rumford Town Manager, he is fiscally responsible given the tight financial constraints that Mexico endures, and he understands the effect that Rumford is having on Mexico, i.e. Mexico's Fire Department budget is drastically affected by the lack of on-call volunteers at the Rumford Fire Department. Mr. Madigan also has a great working relationship with his Board. They are respectful of one another, they listen to one another, and they question their department heads together during the budget process. He is a real team player.

Chief Wentzell is also a great choice. He has built up an incredible call-force in Mexico because he has true leadership skills, he manages effectively, he treats his on-call firefighters with respect and dignity, and he and his team are already fighting all of Rumford's fires due to the lack of on-call volunteers on the Rumford Fire Department. In a January 19, 2008 Sun Journal article, "Mexico wary of Mutual Aid Costs," Chief Wentzell reports, "although Mexico provides mutual aid for several other River Valley towns, the amount it provides Rumford is nearly twice the total of all other towns so far this year, according to records. Mexico has used 652 man hours and $6,571 to fight its own fires, and 651 man hours and $6,511 to help Rumford." The Sun Journal also reported that Mexico Town Manager John Madigan said his town cannot afford to subsidize other towns. Madigan was quoted, 'We could bill you, we could all put money in a pool to pay a call force. We've got to be fair,' he said at a Thursday night joint meeting of selectmen from Mexico and Rumford."

The Town of Rumford would benefit greatly by the public service of both Mr. Madigan and Chief Wentzell. And, we would be moving towards regionalization. This is more important than ever now because according to another Sun Journal article dated January 21, 2008, the Maine State Planning Office predicts that Rumford is projected to have a population of about 5,700, down from 6,400 counted during the 2000 census. The state office's projections call for a further decline to just under 4,000 people within 10 years.