Torno said to opt for road boss sans benefits

LEBANON - Selectmen Royce Heath and Paul Nadeau both confirmed on Thursday they had turned in their resignations at the town transfer station, thus ending an outcry over illegal selectmen meetings had the two had to work a shift together.

Both will end their employment there by the end of the month.

"It was OK when just one selectman worked there, but not with two," Heath said. "So Ronnie (Transfer Station manager Ronal Patch) said I'd rather you both left."

By law, when a quorum of selectmen are together it constitutes a meeting. With the Board of Selectmen comprising three officials, that means two are a quorum and any meeting by the two would be illegal without it being posted and allowing the public to attend.

In other news, Road Commissioner Tom Torno has decided to continue as Road Commissioner despite losing his benefit on July 1, said Selectmen Chairman Ben Thompson, who added he was waiting for a letter from Torno confirming his decision.

Resident Deborah Wilson at Tuesday's meeting had chastised Selectmen Heath and Nadeau for giving him the position, saying over and over they had "screwed" Torno by making the move because he would now lose all town benefits per town voting earlier this month.

Thompson, meanwhile, said that the duties and powers of a road commissioner and roads supervisor vary little, in that Torno will still have to get approval from the board for work projects just like before.

Wilson also asked selectmen for their support to adopt a comprehensive plan, but Thompson said for any effort to move forward five residents have to commit to being on the comprehensive plan board and 213 residents must sign a petition asking selectmen to put the issue before town voters in the form of a referendum question.