County requests legal opinion of budget process
FARMINGTON - The county's attorney will review the Franklin County budget process, following a decision by the budget committee to overturn three of four commissioner recommendations at their final meeting.
At the June 28 meeting, the budget committee voted to alter three of the four line items set by commissioners at their June 19 meeting. Those alterations impacted county support to Western Maine Transportation and SAVES as well as a project to repave the Church Street parking lot, marking the end of an at-times contentious process to set the $5.29 million budget.
On June 7, committee members voted to make roughly $85,000 in cuts to the county budget. These included cuts to WMT, SAVES and the Church Street parking lot, but also reductions to the flex benefits of part-time elected officials; specifically the three commissioners and county treasurer. Those positions previously received 70 percent of the health insurance coverage of a full-time employee, with that flex benefit also available in the form of other benefits if not used for insurance. The committee reduced the budget lines for commissioner and treasurer benefits by $14,562 and $6,368 respectively, with the stated goal of reducing that flex benefit to 35 percent of a full-time employee.
At their June 19 meeting, commissioners voted unanimously on several line items, restoring roughly $47,000 of the committee's cuts. Commissioner Gary McGrane of Jay took issue with the committee setting individual line items of the budget. Commissioner Clyde Barker of Strong joined with McGrane in decrying the committee adjusting the benefits of elected positions, calling it a micromanagement of a basic county function.
The committee addressed all four line item changes made by commissioners at their June 28 meeting, altering three of them. At the conclusion of the meeting, roughly half of the members addressed McGrane's issue with line-by-line budget changes, saying they felt it was their responsibility as the representatives of the public in the process. Committee members Tim DeMillo of Jay, Ryan Morgan of Farmington, D. Scott Taylor of Wilton and Terry Brann of Wilton all addressed the issue, indicating their support for the process.
Tuesday, County Clerk Julie Magoon said that the county's legal counsel had been asked to review the process. Attorney Frank Underkuffler will look at whether the budget committee had control of individual line items or should focus instead on the less specific department and overall budgets. Additionally, he will also research who has the authority to set the salary and benefits of both elected and appointed officials.
The question is a complex one. Each county is governed by its own statutes, all of which can be changed only by the state Legislature. Certain positions are covered under separate statutes, such as the sheriff's position, while some counties set parameters for all of their elected officials.
In other business, commissioners approved a request for proposals for the design of the new dispatch center. Those bids will be due July 20, and commissioners intend to discuss them at a special meeting on July 24.
Entries(RSS)
Great job! Kudos to the committee for removing the wastefull spending of the commissioners. The commissioners should not receive any health insurance benefits at all.
I say this is a shame for the county Commissioners. How much taxpayer money is being wasted by them for legal counsel to increase their own pay? They are the ones that set their own pay. They decided to vote themselves 70% of flex dollars that a full time employee gets. If the budget committee is limited on budget items that means that the commisioners can write in what ever they want and there is no one to stop them. There is no town meeting or vote for their budgets only the nine individuals that represent the county commisioners' districts. Next year they could give themselves a $20,000 raise and there would be no way to stop it. If the budget committe has no authority to look through the budget the county commisioners should just disband them. I urge you to call the county commisioners office and tell them to get in check with the rest of the world. They received a 2% raise this year. Did you? Call 778-6614 and tell them you are taxpayers and won't stand for their antics.
As a member of this Franklin County budget review committee, I would like to state that in my belief, the people who are paying the salaries of these elected officials should have the authority to determine the wages and benefits of said elected officials. If the budget committee is not allowed to examine the County budget line by line, this is a classic case of the fox guarding the hen house; and as I have asked before, why have a budget committee at all? Please remember that the 9 members of the budget committee are representatives from all 3 districts of the county, as are the 3 commissioners; but we (the budget committee) get absolutely no stipend or reimbursement for attending these budget negotiations. Without the budget committees' ability to look at line items, the 3 commissioners would dictate the budget and eventually the tax burden on all of Franklin County. Personally, I would hope that our statutes verify this need for checks and balances. If not, I would hope that our State Legislators adjust our County Statutes to provide for some input from the taxpayers of Franklin County.
As a tax payer of Jay I received a 0 percent wage increase and this is not the first time. The commissioners have not done me any favors and question if they are acting like responsible elected officers. Now they are spending more tax monies to get legal advise to see if there is a way of increasing their pay. If this is the case, I probably will think twice before re-electing them. I fully support the budget committee's recommendation.
If the County Commissioners are dissatisfied with the Budget Committee actually studying, analyzing and adjusting the county budget, and if the Commissioners' attorney determines that the Budget Committee has overstepped its authoritly, then the Committee will have no alternative but to adjust the county budget through the use of a percentage cut. A twenty- five percent overall budget reduction is conceivable. In that way, the commissioners can have all the authority they think they need. They can make any adjustments they desire and they can live with their decisions.
Here we go,feeding the lawyers again at the tax-payers expense just because some part time 'cry-baby' officials were refused what they wanted Why don't they pay out-of pocket for their own insurance for a year or so then maybe they would be thankful for any help on thier premiums.I think that the tax payers shouldnt be obligated to pay any portion of anybody's health insurance when they are only part timers.The lawyer fees will probably cost as much as the difference in the cost of the insurance.What a waste of money.Hey,any part time openings in the County? I would like to apply.Also thank-you D.Scott Taylor and Ryan Morgan for your realistic thoughts on this subject.
I love this! These guys want to cut everything about government except the county. They should get the same kind of benefits any worker gets. Good work, Mr. Taylor. Hang in there.
Thank you for your support Mr. Knight and Mr, Gray. I cannot accept any more praise than the other members of the budget committee; the committee in place is a great group of diverse and level headed people. This committee is truly the main source of democracy and public input at this County level of budget government and we take that responsibility seriously. Thanks again for the support and I pray that our current budget process is upheld by legal council.