FARMINGTON – The county Budget Committee voted 5-2 Monday to recommend a $4.4 million budget for Franklin County government operations in 2006.
That figure represents a $220,950 increase over the current $4.18 million budget. Jay Selectman Bill Harlow and Rangeley Plantation Assessor Cary Keep were the dissenters in the vote.
Earlier, the county commissioners had recommended a $4.42 million county budget.
The difference between the Budget Committee’s and the commissioners’ proposals is $20,849.
A public hearing on the proposed budget is scheduled for 7 p.m. Monday, Dec. 12, upstairs in the county courthouse.
During the Budget Committee’s 2-hour deliberation on Monday, members reviewed several accounts and made changes to some items.
The panel unanimously rejected a proposed 3 percent increase for commissioners, which would have raised their pay to $7,671 for the first commissioner and $7,272 for the other two. Instead, the committee recommended that the pay remain the same as this year at $7,447 for the first commissioner and $7,060 for the others.
The committee also voted 6-1, with Russell Black opposed, to recommend $969,927 for the Sheriff’s Department. The initial request from the department was $1,039,842; the county commissioners proposed a $999,842 budget.
The difference between commissioners’ and budget panel’s proposal is $29,915. The panel reduced the sheriff’s requested gas amount from $105,000 to $60,000. Commissioners had previously recommended $85,000 for that item.
This year, $32,000 was budgeted to cover gas but, due to rising gas prices, the account is currently over its budget, with $44,000 paid through November. County Treasurer Karen Robinson said she didn’t anticipate paying more than $50,000 for gas in 2005.
Sheriff Dennis Pike said that he had told Chief Deputy Ray Meldrum to budget for the worst scenario for gas next year, which was why the projected amount was so high.
Pike said he could get by with $60,000 if the budget panel recommended $70,000 to replace three vehicles. He estimated that they would cost $21,000 to $22,000 each, not including setup costs.
Budget Committee members said that if Pike proposes to trade in the 2002 full-size transport van with 90,000 miles on it, he should be able to get more than the traditional trade-in allowance and still be able to buy three vehicles.
The panel voted 6-1, with Keep opposing, to recommend $60,000 for new vehicles, the same as the commissioners recommended.
The committee also left alone the department’s recommendation for $30,000 for part-time deputies; the commissioners proposed cutting $10,000 from that budget item.
While the panel rejected merit raises above a 3 percent cost-of-living increase for the office manager and a secretary in the sheriff’s department, they approved a recommendation for a 2 percent increase above the 3 percent cost-of-living raise for the victim’s advocate and paralegal secretary in the district attorney’s office.
State prosecutors Jim Andrews and Andy Robinson said both jobs have changed dramatically from when the employees in those positions were hired. They said the victim’s advocate now acts as a probation officer and restitution collector for misdemeanor crimes, and the paralegal secretary has been learning new skills to bring more money to the county coffers for drug cases.
Budget Committee members rejected going into executive session with the district attorneys and employees due to the commissioners’ having the authority to set pay for county employees.
The panel listened to their case in public session and agreed that the job descriptions of the employees should be reviewed by commissioners.
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