AUBURN – Three nonprofit agencies were funded for six months after an emotional Budget Committee meeting Wednesday night.

The action came after several of the more than 60 people at the meeting spoke against a proposal to eliminate $48,000 in county funding for the University of Maine Androscoggin-Sagadahoc Counties Cooperative Extension Service, a move that the Extension says would force closure of its Lisbon Falls office and suspension of local services. In addition, $2,500 for the Time and Tide Resource Conservation and Development Area and $14,000 for the Androscoggin Valley Soil & Water Conservation District would have been eliminated.

The three agencies will each receive half of those amounts, and the Budget Committee will reconvene in the spring to consider the second half of the year. That action was partly because Sagadahoc County’s fiscal year ends June 30, while Androscoggin operates with a calendar year budget.

For several years, Androscoggin County has funded 75 percent of the local funding for the three nonprofits. That amount is based on property valuations. “I’m sure that valuations in Sagadahoc County are higher than in Androscoggin County,” said Budget Committee Chairman Paul Labrecque, suggesting a more amicable split.

Appeals to work together with Sagadahoc County came from several officials from that county. “This is a partnership between Androscoggin and Sagadahoc counties and we are left out of it,” said Alan Houston of Topsham, a county commissioner-elect of Sagadahoc County.

Sen. Lois Snowe-Mello, R-Poland, read a letter urging funding for the three nonprofits. Sen. Margaret Rotundo, D-Lewiston, Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds, and Rep. Deborah Pelletier-Simpson, D-Auburn, also signed the letter.

Renee Bernier, a committee member and a Lewiston city counselor, chided Snowe-Mello, telling her she was disappointed by the letter. “We’re trying to go back to the taxpayers with a zero budget and we get a letter like this.”

“We’re told to get down to zero. That’s their agenda. We cannot function on a zero budget. We are down to an unbelievably bare-bones budget,” said County Commissioner Patience Johnson.

Budget Committee member Michael Bowie said the 50 percent funding for the nonprofits could be recouped by cutting county commissioners’ salaries by $8,000 and Sheriff Ronald Gagnon’s $46,000 salary by $33,000.

Herbert Reed chastised him, saying a 1 percent tax hike is acceptable. “To gut the budget completely is asinine,” Reed said. “You’re up here pushing your own agenda. It’s time to shut up.”

That comment was met by applause.

Despite the disagreements, a motion for 50 percent funding passed unanimously.

Several people spoke in favor of the nonprofits.

“We have the Extension to thank for our success because of the resources they have available to us,” said Laurie Varney of Turner, an organic farmer. She added that Maine is one of the few states where the number of farms is increasing, partly due to people who are not from farming backgrounds going into it. Those people would not have families to bring questions about farming to.

Shelly Casey-Smith of Auburn is an assistant 4-H leader. She said 87 Androscoggin County children are served by the youth organization, and the Extension office in Lisbon Falls serves as a liaison. “If our Extension office closes, 4-H is gone,” she said. “These kids learn how to take care of themselves. They learn how to take care of their communities.”

Michelle Morris, 13, of Litchfield is a member of a 4-H group in Androscoggin County. She said 4-H is a vital part of her life. “Please, don’t shut us down.” Many of the more than 60 people present applauded her statement.