Paris town manager says state of town is ‘strong’ coming up to election, town meeting

PARIS — Town Manager Vic Hodgkins reported that the state of the town is “strong,” in the recent town report.

“First, from a financial prospective, the town of Paris enjoys a healthy unassigned surplus account of over 1.2 million dollars, and the town currently has very little debt,” he said.

“Second, from a people perspective. As citizens of the town of Paris, we all should be proud of all our employees,” he said. “They work hard each and every day of the year to provide you with top notch service. It is my observation that the town enjoys a staff of dedicated professionals that strive every day to do their job well. Plus, the town also has many dedicated volunteers serving on many committees and boards, all with the goal of making Paris better. Please join me in thanking our employees and volunteers … they keep this town ticking.

“Since accepting the position last September as your town manager, I have tried to conduct town business by the use of three simple concepts. Calm, stabilize, and grow. It is vital that we as town continue to put our best foot forward every day, with the goal of being better tomorrow than we are today. If we want to grow our town, we need to collectively move in the same direction. With the newly formed Economic and Development Committee, and 1 Paris Hill Committee, the town of Paris is proving that it takes growth and recreational opportunities seriously.”

He also thanked the Select board for giving “a tremendous amount of time, effort, and energy for the betterment of our town.”

“While the state of our town is strong, we will always continue to look for ways to improve,” he said, encouraging residents to stop by the town office with ideas, thoughts, questions or concerns.

The town election is Tuesday, June 13, when residents can vote on the school, town and state ballots. Polls are open 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. at the Fire Station, 137 Western Avenue. Town Meeting is 10 a.m. Saturday, June 17 at the Fire Station. Copies of the town report are available at the Town Office, 33 Market Square, South Paris, or online at www.parismaine.org.