Questions Mount in Ossipee: $15K Assessor Job, Multiple Government Roles, and a Bridge That Doesn’t Add Up

To make things even more interesting, for the town of ossipee the government treasury reportedly contacted our county commissioner about the position, questioning the arrangement involving Matt Sawyer Ossipee’s tax assessor

The latest issue raising eyebrows involves the county treasurer position. He seems to have hand picked for!

The proposed role reportedly pays $15,000 per year for about 50 hours of work annually.

Yes — you read that right.

That works out to roughly $300 an hour.

Not bad work if you can get it.

What concerns residents even more is that the position does not appear to have gone through the normal public hiring process that government jobs usually require.

Instead, it appears the position may have simply been arranged internally.

When the people responsible for overseeing government spending start asking questions, taxpayers probably should too. Considering the only prior experience Mr Sawyer seems to have is working as a bank teller at a local branch of TD Bank.

One Person, Many Roles

The hiring decision was reportedly made under the authority of Selectman John Smith.

Mr. Smith currently holds several government positions at the same time:

• Ossipee Selectman

• Code Enforcement Officer

• Health Officer

• State Representative

That’s a lot of hats for one person.

At this point, the only thing missing might be a traffic cop whistle and a librarian card.

But the real concern is not the number of hats — it’s the power those hats represent.

As a State Representative, Mr. Smith helps decide what state funding becomes available.

As a local official, he also helps decide how the town applies for and spends that funding.

Which leads to a pretty obvious question:

Who is watching the watchdog?

The “Bridge to Nowhere”

Residents have also questioned the town’s handling of a project now commonly referred to as the “bridge to nowhere.”

The bridge project reportedly received state funding with the understanding that it would be rebuilt to allow automobile access.

But after the funding was secured, the bridge was ultimately built as a pedestrian walkway instead.

Which raises a few questions residents would love answered:

• Was the bridge built according to the plan used to obtain the funding?

• If the design changed, why?

• Where did the remaining funds go?

Because from the taxpayer perspective, the situation looks a bit like this:

Ask for funding for a major bridge project… then build a walking path.

Meanwhile, residents are left paying higher taxes for something that many say was unnecessary and rarely used.

If the goal of local government is to protect taxpayers, the intent behind decisions should be clear.

But when taxes continue rising for projects that don’t seem necessary, it starts to give the appearance that someone else may be benefiting from the arrangement.

The recent Select Board Debate

At a recent town meeting, residents discussed expanding the select board from three members to five.

The idea was simple:

More oversight and more voices representing the town.

However, Selectman Smith opposed the change.

His argument was that if not enough people ran for office, someone might have to be appointed rather than elected.

The irony?

That is exactly how Mr. Smith himself originally became a selectman.

Apparently appointments are fine — just not when they might lead to more oversight.

Why This Matters

Local government works best when it is transparent, accountable, and open to public scrutiny.

But when residents start noticing patterns like:

• jobs created without public hiring processes

• the same individual holding multiple government roles

• large projects that don’t match their original purpose

• rising taxes with little explanation

people start asking questions.

And right now, Ossipee residents have a lot of questions.

Especially when even state financial oversight officials are raising concerns about certain positions and spending decisions.

At the End of the Day

Public officials should always remember one thing:

They work for the people — not the other way around.

When decisions truly protect taxpayers, the intent behind them is obvious.

But when taxes go up for projects that seem unnecessary and positions appear out of nowhere paying hundreds of dollars an hour…

well…

people start wondering whose pockets are really being filled.

And that’s a question Ossipee residents deserve an honest answer to.