LIVERMORE FALLS – The people of Livermore Falls want to consider leaving Androscoggin County for Franklin County.

A straw vote last month overwhelmingly supported a study to switch counties, and now the title of a bill that seeks to authorize the secession of Livermore Falls has been filed with the Legislature.

State Rep. Janet Mills, D-Farmington, sponsored the bill title: “An act to annex the town of Livermore Falls to Franklin County.”

The contents of the bill will be added by mid-January, Town Manager Alan Gove said.

“If there is enough support, then the Legislature may allow a local vote on the issue in order for the town to proceed to secede,” Mills said.

Towns must file a bill with the Legislature to ask permission to move from one county to another, he said.

Mills indicated that the bill would allow interested parties to make the case that Livermore Falls should be allowed to separate from Androscoggin and become part of Franklin County.

Gove said the bill may be withdrawn if the town does not wish to pursue annexation to Franklin County.

He said he recently started contacting people for information as part of a study of whether the move would be cost-effective and benefit taxpayers.

Gove sent out letters to Franklin County commissioners Tuesday with carbon copies to Franklin County Sheriff Dennis Pike and Androscoggin County commissioners, among others.

The letter asks Franklin commissioners for input about areas of concern if Franklin County was to grow larger by one town; it also asked for commissioners’ questions and thoughts on extending the county’s boundaries.

Livermore Falls’ tax assessment from Androscoggin County was $163,000 for 2004.

Franklin County Commission Chairman Gary McGrane said Wednesday that he hadn’t yet seen the letter but knew what it would say because he talked to Gove before he sent it.

“There’s a number of things to investigate,” McGrane said.

Forming a committee to look at the pros and cons is an appropriate route, he said, adding that commissioners most likely will discuss the letter at their next meeting.

“We’re willing to look at it,” McGrane.

Franklin County Register of Deeds Susan Black said that adding another town’s documents would put more strain on already tight quarters for recorded documents.

“Were running out of room now with our documents,” she said. “We’re maxing out.”

Androscoggin County Register of Deeds Tina Chouinard said the registry handles 34,000 to 35,000 documents a year, and that office too is running out of space.

If Livermore Falls moves to Franklin County, Chouinard said it would take away revenues from Androscoggin County. In just deeds, Chouinard roughly estimated that it would be a loss of $2,000 a year.

That figure didn’t include mortgage fees that accompany most deeds and lien fees.

“It’s not a big chunk,” she said, “but I’m sure we would feel it.”

Livermore Falls paid 2.28 percent of the total budget in 2004, Androscoggin County Commission Chairman Elmer Berry said. If Livermore Falls was to go to Franklin County, the other 13 towns in Androscoggin County would have to pick up that share, Berry said.

The transfer tax for deeds is between $40,000 to $44,000 from Livermore Falls, Berry said, with the county getting 10 percent of that money and the state getting 90 percent of it.

“I can visualize some problems,” Berry said, including researching deeds and housing jail inmates.

Jails around the state are maxed out, he said.

“I just don’t see the advantages for Livermore Falls,” he said. “I think when the research is done, there will be more disadvantages than advantages.”

Franklin County Sheriff Dennis Pike said the jail has recently been holding more inmates than the 29 certified beds it has. With remodeling and a possible addition, Pike said, the jail could manage inmates from Livermore Falls if certified for additional beds.

Androscoggin County Sheriff’s Chief Deputy Guy Desjardins said Livermore Falls’ move would have a minor affect on the Auburn jail.

In 2003, 12 people in Livermore Falls were sentenced to there and 62 were booked there. Desjardins said Livermore Falls police handled more than that number of bookings but bails some from the Livermore Falls police station.

Voters in Livermore Falls would have to approve the move from the county, as would voters in all Franklin County towns, Gove said.

The process takes about a year, he said.