FARMINGTON — Franklin County Budget Committee members voted unanimously Thursday to put $5,000 back into the budget to take care of holes in the employee parking lot off Church Street.
The move overrides the commissioners’ action to restore $24,000 for reclaiming and pavement of the lot that the Budget Committee initially eliminated. It takes two-thirds of the Budget Committee, which is six members, to override the commissioners’ proposal.
It took a unanimous vote of the commissioners to send budget items back to the budget panel for reconsideration.
Coming into the meeting, the Budget Committee’s proposal stood at $5.27 million and the commissioners’ at $5.31 million.
Commissioners voted June 19 to send requests back for the parking lot, the Sheriff’s Department’s vehicle purchase and program grant requests from Western Maine Transportation and Sexual Assault Victims Emergency Services.
Budget Committee members said they were concerned with safety and liability and put in enough money to have the sinkholes addressed but wanted to wait a year before the whole parking lot was redone.
The Sheriff’s Department’s vehicle purchase amount will remain at $92,000, which commissioners recommended.
Pike said he could get four Ford Interceptors this year with $92,000.
Prior to the vote, Budget Committee member Ryan Morgan, a Farmington selectman, said he was glad the sheriff had options other than sport utility vehicles. The move would save taxpayers $11,000 per vehicle.
The committee also voted unanimously to add $4,000 back to Western Maine Transportation to make it $19,000.
Commissioners voted to unanimously restore the amount to the $20,000 request.
Craig Zurhorst, a representative of the agency, said a $1,000 cut would equal a $5,000 cut because the agency gets matching federal dollars.
Committee member Terry Brann, a Wilton selectman, said he would like more financial information brought to the committee before a budget vote next year.
The committee also voted to override the commissioners’ proposal to restore SAVES’ request of $11,380. The committee stuck to the $10,000 they initially voted on after members said they would fund the agency the same as the Franklin County Children’s Task Force.
dperry@sunjournal.com
Send questions/comments to the editors.
Success. Please wait for the page to reload. If the page does not reload within 5 seconds, please refresh the page.
Enter your email and password to access comments.
Hi, to comment on stories you must . This profile is in addition to your subscription and website login.
Already have a commenting profile? .
Invalid username/password.
Please check your email to confirm and complete your registration.
Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.
Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.