Nathan Young
Bar Harbor Town Council Candidates
NATHAN YOUNG
THE BIO
My name is Nathan Young. I was born in Bar Harbor, and I am currently the owner of Emery’s Cottages on the Shore (est. 1934), located on the Sand Point Road. I became the steward of this magnificent gem in 2018 and I have the benefit of continuing the tradition of a family-run business.
I served the town of Bar Harbor as your police chief for 22 years out of a nearly 30-year career with the town. I have a deep understanding of the intricacies of municipal government and the leadership skills necessary to serve our community in a proper capacity going forward.
I look forward to the providing you with the information necessary to make a proper decision as we go forward with this pivotal election. This community deserves a no-nonsense principals vs personalities-based government.
OUR QUESTIONS FOR NATE
Why do you think so many people are running this year?
I feel that the recent candidate pools are an indication that change is needed.
Why are you running? How does your why for running delve into your bigger life purpose?
I am running because I believe my years of experience working for this community provide me with the historical background necessary to represent our community.
There has been a significant increase in expenditures over the past 10 years, particularly the past two. I am very concerned that we run the risk of making it unaffordable for those who live here, let alone those we are trying to attract.
I will represent the interest of the inhabitants of the town of Bar Harbor and will serve no particular interest that does not represent the greater community or the will of the voters.
I believe my leadership skills and extensive government experience provide me with the tools necessary to strike a balance this town so desperately needs.
How would you try to create more trust between people not on town boards/committees and those who are?
To their credit, this and past councils have strived to find ways to provide more open and free-flowing communication with the general public.
My main goal is to regain a balance, recognizing the uniqueness of our community, and I feel trust can be gained through transparency.
What are some things that you feel like the town should be focusing on, but isn’t?
Infrastructure priorities: I firmly believe the town needs to establish a priority list of lagging infrastructure needs and an implementation schedule along with the associated costs we will be facing. I believe the town should refrain from adding infrastructure while other needs sit on the back burner.
We asked this last year, but I think it’s really important to ask again. Do you have any ideas for increasing revenue to the town and alleviating the tax burden on property owners? Do you have any ideas for decreasing expenses?
Exploring new ways to generate revenue should be encouraged. However, I believe we need to cut back on our expenditures. In many cases, the taxpayer has had to make their own household budgetary adjustments due to rising costs while the town has proceeded to add personnel, increase funding for outside entities, and add infrastructure. We need to evaluate each cost center within our budget and recognize the expenditures associated with that cost center over the past 10 years.
This includes the number of employees and the annual workload for each department. I believe an accurate accounting of the aforementioned will provide enough information on whether to support future funding at the pace we have.
What skills do you bring to the table that you think other candidates might not bring?
My years of employment with this town provide me with the perspective necessary to make decisions on what’s best for the town. Most importantly, I can easily recognize that the seat I’m running for belongs to the residents of this town.
What is it about Bar Harbor that you love?
Locationally, it is my true north.
What is it that worries you?
What concerns me is how to bridge the gap between business and nonbusiness. Undoubtedly the business community is a vital component of our community, and there are many untold stories of how generous they are. I believe the business community has flourished over the past 35+ years and many concessions have been made to accommodate that growth including redefining height, zero setbacks, elimination of parking requirement for many, parking credits, elimination of sewer connection fees etc. Our spending is outpacing our growth and that is having an adverse effect on many of our nonbusiness people that are struggling to keep up with these huge tax increases. We need to embrace responsible growth without endangering our most valuable resource, our ecosystem.
What have you done for yourself that you’re the most proud of? What have you done for the community that you’re the most proud of?
I take great pride in the nearly three decades of service I gave to our community. I was your longest serving police chief, having served for 22 years, and I’d like to think that I did a lot of positive things for the community during that time.