PARIS – At least one county Budget Committee member will be scrutinizing spending carefully before the budget’s Oct. 15 public hearing.

Oxford Selectman Dennis Sanborn, a regular attendee at county commissioners’ meetings, told Administrative Assistant Carole Mahoney he wanted a printout of all revenues that came in last year, and all unspent funds.

Mahoney said she’d be glad to sit down with Sanborn and go over several documents that detail aspects of county spending throughout the year. She pointed out that any unspent funds from the previous year goes into reducing taxes.

Sanborn said he was upset last year to learn that the Sheriff’s Department had bought 60 new tires last year with funds unspent in the previous budget. “I don’t like that. It’s not right,” Sanborn said.

Sanborn asked commissioners whether they had any input into specific spending by the Sheriff’s Department beyond approving the budget line items. Commissioners said they did not.

Commissioners have invited all of the nine Budget Committee members to make advance visits with departments heads prior to the public hearing so they can better understand the requests.

The Oct. 15 public hearing will be held at 6 p.m. in the commissioners’ office. Commissioners will make their recommendations known at their 9 a.m. Oct. 21 meeting, and a budget work session will be held at 6 p.m. Nov. 13.

Under state law, commissioners must act on a final budget by Dec. 15.

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