Enough is enough. As a Portland taxpayer and homeowner on Munjoy Hill (22-plus years), I am tired of the ribbing I get from family members and co-workers of the antics of City Hall and the way they do business.

The straw that broke my silence was the latest Portland Press Herald report on the failure of the Shipyard Brewery to pay the proper fees for its sewer connection.

Additional Photos

Fred Forsley, CEO of Shipyard Brewery, and other executives have no credible explanation for the company not paying its full sewer bill, a reader says. 2012 File Photo/John Ewing

Thanks to The Press Herald for digging into this issue, which probably would have been swept under the rug at Portland taxpayers’ expense. Fred Forsley is arrogant to say that he will re-locate his brewery if he does not get his way, like a broken record.

If he wants to go, then let him go! I bet where he lives, he does not have to smell the stench of his company’s by-product every day, or the 2 a.m. banging of dumpsters being serviced. If I recall, he already has some sweetheart deals with the city, including the new parking garage on Fore Street.

I would like The Press Herald to do more on the way the city of Portland conducts business. I know I can tell you some stories.

Peter Hannigan

Portland

Well, who says Maine isn’t a business-friendly state?

First, it’s Paul Violette, former head of the Maine Turnpike Authority, who embezzled hundreds of thousands of dollars over several years from Maine residents, and he gets to receive all his retirement benefits.

And now we learn that Shipyard Brewery, one of the most successful companies in our state, has been receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of free water-sewer usage!

Even if the error was equal to $100,000 per year, and not the $300,000 based on their 2011 usage, that is $1.4 million in water bills that the “fastest-growing craft-beer producer in the country” in 1996 did not pay.

And who did pay for that? You’re right – again, Portland residents and other businesses. And, incredulously, management at Shipyard Brewery had no awareness of the typical discharge calculation used by the Brewers Association, even though they have been in the business of brewing beer for all these years.

Or was it just another case of “don’t ask, don’t tell”? And all on the backs of residents and businesses in one of the poorest states in the country. Shame on all of you! When is the state of Maine going to get its act together?

Deborah Napier

Portland

Firefighters deserve thanks, not unfounded fault-finding

I was a member of a labor-management committee formed 23 years ago that was charged with consolidating the portion of the Maine State Retirement System that served municipalities, water districts, etc.

Each of the 250-plus participating local districts was individually funded, not tied financially into the state’s employee pension. Each decided what benefits they wanted with health insurance never an option.

We were able to consolidate the plans, forming a fraction of the total number while dropping the cost per member for each participating local district. Towns went from dropping out of the plan to rejoining.

When I stepped down a year ago, participating local districts were seeing a slight increase from the many years of 3 percent payroll tax to 3.5 and now 4 percent. The point is, if they had paid Social Security payroll tax at 6.5 percent, they wouldn’t have saved hundreds of thousands of dollars. Portland residents might appreciate the retirement system plan that saved taxpayers’ funds.

Secondly, I’ve attended four firefighters’ funerals in the past two months, men who died at age 51, 60, 63 and 71-year-old Captain Pierce, who had been on a disability pension from a bomb explosion injury. Two got normal retirement, one died before he retired and the last had a life of pain.

I witnessed personal friends Joey, Kevin and Frankie dying before they ever received a single check from retirement. All were great firefighters who never had a chance to be criticized by underinformed citizens who chose to write condemning letters.

I publicly say “Thank you” to all firefighters and police officers who continue to put their lives on the line across our great state. May you all collect your well-desired pensions for as long as you served us.

Denis A. Morse

Raymond

President Obama needs to put his values into practice

In his column Jan. 30, the best President Obama could come up with when discussing “renewing American values” were fair play and shared responsibility.

To me, “fair play” means everyone playing by the same rules, not you starting the sprint 10 yards ahead or you being given an A grade and me a C for comparable work.

And what about “shared responsibility”? When I buy a home and sign a contract, with whom should I share responsibility for paying the mortgage? If I spend beyond my means and enter bankruptcy, is someone else responsible for my making bad judgments? Of course not!

The values I was taught include hard work, personal responsibility, taking ownership for one’s decisions, making sacrifices when necessary and maintaining personal independence. These are the values that led to America’s strength and greatness. We need to get back to them.

Robert D. Haggett

Biddeford

Church not entitled to make individuals’ care choices

What M.D. Harmon (“Birth-control rule reveals Obama’s disdain for Catholics,” Feb. 3) and the Catholic hierarchy neglect to mention is that the choice to use those services is up to the individual; what they fear is that their congregants are ignoring their prohibitions.

Stuart Rich

Owl’s Head

The notion that Catholic employers should not have to obey the minimum standards of the new federal medical insurance program is not sensible. There are many Catholic employers. I am one. I own a law office. Should it be different if I ran a nursing home?

Should I be able to deprive my employees of a federally mandated benefit of birth control advice if I myself do not believe in the morality of birth control? Even though it does not offend my employee’s conscience? Of course not.

What would happen to federal programs if any employer could veto them for other people for whatever reason of personal conscience? It’s a Catholic belief today. Tomorrow, what belief will it be?

Donald Fontaine

Portland

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