NORWAY – Oxford County Commissioner Steve Merrill feels his years serving the county make him a good candidate for re-election.

“Experience is worth a lot in this business,” he said Monday from his office at Maine Home Crafters, where he is a salesman.

A Republican, Merrill has served as county commissioner for 10 years, three of them as chairman. He lives in Norway with his wife, Carol, and has a daughter in college and two stepchildren who are grown.

During his tenure, he said, the commission has done a good job of keeping taxes reasonable while providing services and maintaining the county’s properties, including the courthouse and jail.

“We’re not an affluent area, so we’ve had to be rather frugal,” Merrill said. Oxford County has managed to “operate in the black” while some counties across the state have experienced climbing deficits, he said.

“I get the question a lot, What do you do?'” Merrill said. “We’re basically the selectmen for a county instead of the town. … I think we do a good job as stewards of the county property.”

Because of the questions about his work as a commissioner, one thing Merrill would like to do in coming years is educate people about county government. “I think we’ve got to do our part,” he said, and suggested the upcoming county bicentennial celebration as a tool for reaching out to residents.

Also, Merrill said, the county needs to take a more active role in working with local municipalities as the population grows and demands expanded services.

“Building permits are growing by leaps and bounds,” he said. “We’re going to have more people using the deeds office. More people using the probate office. … We’re seeing a large increase in the juvenile area – juvenile court.”

There also are demands for greater coverage from the Oxford County sheriff’s office, he said. “As time goes on it’s only going to get worse, so we’ve got to plan. We’ve got to plan for this.”

Merrill doesn’t like the term “regionalization.” However, he said, looking for ways to implement the “sharing of services” between the county and local government is one way to address growing pains.

It’s not about taking over local control, Merrill said, “but we want to assist in any direction.”

While Merrill has been a commissioner for 10 years, he’d like to serve for 20.

Longevity, he said, is important.