FARMINGTON — Franklin County Budget Committee members will take up commissioners’ proposed changes to the spending plan Thursday.

The meeting will begin at 4 p.m. June 28 in the Franklin County Superior Courtroom at the courthouse.

The committee’s proposal is $5.27 million and the commissioners’ is $5.31 million.

Committee reduced some amounts June 7, and commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to add some back, including $24,000 to pave and improve the county parking lot on Anson Street. Commissioners said there are holes with continual undermining that need to be fixed before someone gets hurt. The lot is also used by the public.

The commission also voted to return $17,000 to the Sheriff’s Department’s new vehicle account, at Sheriff Dennis Pike’s request. It was initially $98,500 and the committee cut it to $75,000.

Pike said during the meeting that the Department has been on a three-year rotation to replace vehicles since 2000. Last year, due to the price of vehicles, they could only get two with the idea to pick up four in the 2012-13 budget.

There is a new Ford Interceptor police vehicle, all wheel-drive, that costs about $22,735. Pike estimated the cost of four of them at about $92,000. Any remainder would need to go to outfitting the vehicles, including getting smaller cages.

“This would enable us to hopefully maintain a respectable maintenance and replacement program,” he said.

Commissioners also voted to put back $5,000 for Western Maine Transportation and $1,138 to Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services to bring them back to this year’s funding amount.

Commissioners opted in a split vote not to ask the committee to restore flex benefits to four, part-time elected officials, including the three commissioners. The committee cut the benefits for them and the treasurer in half.

Clerk Julie Magoon told commissioners prior to their vote on restoring the treasurer’s flex benefits that the number the Budget Committee used was incorrect. It should have been $7,824.

Commissioners vote 2-1 to restore the treasurer’s flex benefits but since it was not unanimous, it will not go back for reconsideration by the Budget Committee. Therefore, the wrong amount still stands.

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