FARMINGTON – County commissioners voted unanimously in favor of the Franklin County Budget Committee’s $8.4 million 2008 budget, which is 3.8 percent more than this year’s.

Commissioners also unanimously approved an unorganized territory budget of $930,288, which will be requested from the state for the coming fiscal year.

The panel also awarded Evergreen Behavioral Service’s a contract for its bid of $75,000 to provide substance abuse and mental health counseling at the jail. Allied Resources for Correctional Health Inc. bid $81,480 for the contract.

A job description for a deputy director of the county’s Emergency Management Agency was also approved. Olive Toothaker has held the position for several years, but a job description was never created.

“The position has been filled with no recognition,” Commissioner Fred Hardy of New Sharon said.

County Clerk Julie Magoon was directed to contact the county attorney to make sure commissioners were not circumventing the hiring policy by creating a job description without advertising to fill the position since Toothaker already held it.

More money was included in the 2008 budget for an increase in pay for Toothaker to reflect the job she is doing.

In other business, commissioners accepted a $2,717 criminal forfeiture if the person is convicted of the crime.

They also appointed Hardy as a representative to Western Maine Community Action Board of Directors with EMA Director Tim Hardy, no relation, appointed as an alternate.

The commission also appointed Fred Hardy to serve on the NorthStar Emergency Medical Services Advisory Committee in lieu of Chairman Gary McGrane, who cannot make the committee’s new meeting time.

The board also appointed budget committee members Stephan Bunker of Farmington, David Archer of Chesterville and Russ Gardner of New Sharon to the county building committee. There is now a 10-member panel that will review engineering and architecture findings on the courthouse and sheriff’s office building.