AUBURN — Androscoggin County should be able to operate with seven commissioners for the same price it pays for three, according to backers of a proposed county charter.

Chip Morrison, chairman of the County Charter Commission, assured city councilors Tuesday that the proposed charter calls for paying the new commissioners much less than the current ones are paid. The understanding, he said, is that the current $22,938 commissioner salary budget would be divided seven ways. That comes to $3,276 per commissioner.

But Mayor Jonathan LaBonte, a former county commissioner, warned that understanding is not spelled out in the proposed charter.

“I’m disappointed that the Charter Commission did not set the salaries,” LaBonte said. “Right now, that body, for three people, makes twice the combined salaries of this council and myself. Unless there is a stipend set, I don’t see a budget committee having the nerve to really make that number small.”

Morrison said the group would take LaBonte’s concerns and the comments from other municipal leaders into consideration. They plan a public hearing on the charter this spring and hope the charter is on the the November ballot. It would become the rule in 2013, if voters approve.

The proposed charter changes the form of county government, creating a spot for a professional county administrator. That person would serve as the day-to-day professional head of county government, making purchasing and other operational decisions.

The charter also lets the county Budget Committee — a group appointed by local municipal governments — set the pay rate for the county commission.

The charter would also divide up the county in seven districts, giving broader representation to more parts of the county.

staylor@sunjournal.com

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