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Resident urges clearer town pay and stipend transparency
Summary
Camden resident Bobby Oxton told the Select Board he was confused by large increases in reported municipal employee compensation and called for salaries, stipends and job descriptions to be posted so taxpayers can understand who receives what.
Bobby Oxton, a Camden resident, used the meeting’s public-comment period to urge the Select Board to publish detailed pay information for town employees, including stipends and job descriptions. "I have looked online and tried to decipher the numbers," Oxton said, pointing to a rise in total reported compensation in recent budget documents and asking why some stipends — including payment to the town’s dam-control agent — grew dramatically.
Oxton said the town’s FY26 municipal budget resource page lists total compensation that he read as substantially higher than prior years and far outpacing federal cost-of-living adjustments. He asked whether stipends were appropriate for full-time town employees and whether hours worked in stipend roles were tracked.
Why it matters: Transparency in compensation affects public trust and budgeting choices. Oxton suggested that posting salaries, stipends and job descriptions online would make it easier for residents to understand personnel costs without invoking Freedom of Information requests.
Board response and context: Board members acknowledged the request and did not take immediate action at the meeting. The town manager and finance staff will need to clarify whether line-item salary and stipend information can be consolidated and posted in a user-friendly way; Oxton said comparable state resources publish such details for all employees.
Next steps: The Select Board did not vote on any personnel-disclosure proposals during the meeting; residents asking for a clearer posting of compensation and stipend data may expect follow-up from town staff or a future agenda item.
