As Poland works to fill a $2.7 million shortfall, several residents plan to invoke a little-used Maine law to force the state to conduct its own audit of the town’s financial records.

Their aim is to collect more than 400 signatures in less than two weeks, submitting the statute-required petition to the state Department of Audit by Sept. 6.

“We’ll get that in, no problem,” said George Sanborn, who is working with former Selectman Glenn Peterson to compile the names.

Their worry is that past audits, including the examination that uncovered the shortfall this spring, were too cursory.

“We still don’t know where all the money went,” Peterson said. “(Town leaders) missed it for six years. To me there are a lot of questions unanswered.”

The town’s answer is that taxes were artificially low, meaning that the money was never collected.

Like all towns, Poland figures its tax rate by comparing the money it needs to raise against the total amount of taxable property in the town.

However, property meant to be shielded from the town’s value – via tax increment financing deals with Poland Spring Water Co. – was accidentally included in the calculation, said Bruce Nadeau, the town’s auditor in a June interview.

Town Manager Richard Chick said Thursday he doesn’t understand the need for a second audit, since all of the town’s finances were already turned over to Nadeau.

Sandra Knowles, the chairwoman of the Poland Board of Selectmen, declined to comment.

If Sanborn and Peterson fulfill the requirements of the audit law, the state will help as much as it can, pledged Neria Douglass, Maine’s state auditor.

She agreed that state statutes allow people to call for an audit, but it is rare. No one has tried since she took office in January 2005, she said.

The rule mandates that the petition must include the signatures of at least 10 percent of registered voters – or 1,000 signatures if the municipality has 10,000 voters or more. That’s all.

Once the names are gathered, the town needs to supply the financial information to the state. The town pays for it, too.

Douglass may still have problems filling the request.

“We have several issues to work through,” she said. One may be a possible conflict. Nadeau, the auditor who conducted Poland’s examination, also worked in Douglass’ office. He had taken over for accountant Peter Vigue, who died earlier this year.

Nadeau has since left, Douglass said, and her office is understaffed.

“We’ll do what we can,” she said.

Poland Selectwoman Wendy Sanborn – George Sanborn’s wife – said she is looking forward to another audit.

She signed the petition and believes the town ought to support the move.

“If that’s what the citizens want, they should be able to have it,” she said.