FARMINGTON — The majority of the Franklin County budget panel voted Wednesday to approve a $6.1 million budget for 2016-17. It represents a $305,781 increase from the current budget that ends on June 30.

Of the total budget amount, $1.89 million is to operate the county jail. It reflects an increase of $269,847 over the existing jail budget. It is the first time the county has had control of the jail budget since 2009. The state had consolidated county jails and budgets were handled at the state level with counties responsible for raising a cap of $1.62 million through taxation. The spending cap remains in place.

The state returned control of the jails back to the counties last year.

The budget now goes to county commissioners at 9 a.m. on Thursday, June 30, at the county courthouse.

In order to change an item in the budget, the three commissioners would have to vote unanimously to send it back to the Budget Advisory Committee. The budget panel would then only be able to change its original budget proposal by a two-thirds majority vote.

The Budget Committee passed its spending plan, which included the elimination of money for a 2 percent increase for non-union workers that the panel removed from the proposed budget in May. Several votes were taken Wednesday night with some members wanting to restore the 2 percent increase and others proposing 1 percent raises. Even a motion to give no motion failed.

In the end, each department budget was moved without the raise for non-union workers.

A unanimous vote on a budget or program request was rare.

The committee did restore some money to department budgets and program grant requests, but also reduced some expenditures.

There was debate on most articles, punctuated with some laughter during the 2 ¾-hour meeting.

The budget panel restored $850 for the facility manager’s cellphone since he is on call 24 hours a day but declined to restore money for half of a down payment for a new dispatch console. No money was added to replace console cards or related computers at the communications center that had been requested by Director Stan Wheeler.

Members restored $10,000 to the Adult Basic Education program grant that had initially been zeroed out from a $22,557 request.

They reduced the Greater Franklin Development Group’s request of $60,000 to $20,000 with half of that to come from the county’s tax-increment financing agreement with TransCanada in connection to Kibby Wind Power in northern Franklin County.

Program grants were funded as follows: Seniors Plus, $20,000; Sexual Assault Prevention & Response Services, $10,000, Children’s Task Force, $10,000; Western Maine Transportation, $10,500; Community Action Program, $30,000; Seniors Plus, $20,000; Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, $10,000; Soil and Water Conservation, $25,000; and Franklin County Firemen’s Association, $3,700.

Tri-County Mental Health Services was reduced to zero from a $20,000 request.

The county expenses came in $78,600 under the state mandated tax cap after factoring in anticipated revenue. That does not include the jail, which has a legislative tax cap.

dperry@sunmediagroup.net

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