AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Budget Committee made one last attempt Wednesday to cut the salaries of county commissioners but failed to do so in its final meeting before next week’s public hearing on the 2017 budget.

Commissioners, who are currently making $5,000 per year, had agreed earlier to lower their own salaries to $4,000, but some Budget Committee members felt that still wasn’t enough.

Three weeks ago, the committee tried to lower commissioners’ salaries to $3,000. That motion passed 7-4, but lacked the required “majority plus one” standard of nine votes for approval, according to the county charter.

All other votes require a super majority of 11 votes on the 14-member committee to become binding.

On Wednesday, some Budget Committee members were still seeking to cut commissioners’ salaries to $3,000. Andrew Titus of Auburn proposed a compromise to set their salaries at $3,500.

However, the commissioners’ move to lower their own salaries and eliminate all health benefits won over some members of the panel. 

“I’m opposed to this,” Norman Beauparlant of Poland said. “I believe that commissioners have listened to the last two Budget Committees and have responded to our concerns.”

But others opposed the compromise for a different reason — they felt $3,500 was too high a salary.

With opponents on both sides of the compromise, it failed to get a simple majority, with only five of the 11 committee members voting yes.

Commissioners’ salaries became a point of contention two years ago after the new county charter increased the number of commissioners from three to seven members, in addition to adding a county administrator.

Budget Committee Chairman Michael Lachance of Lewiston said it was his understanding, reviewing transcripts of city council meetings from 2012, that the total amount budgeted for salaries for the seven commissioners would equal the combined amount paid to the previous three commissioners.

That amount, he said, should have been a little more than $3,000 per commissioner.

Commissioners, however, approved $5,000 for themselves. The commissioners and the municipalities in Androscoggin County have been fighting the issue in court for more than a year.

During court-ordered negotiations earlier this year in an attempt to reach a settlement, both sides in the lawsuit had agreed to set commissioners’ salaries at $4,000, but the talks broke down over other issues.

Budget Committee member Allen Ward, who attended those negotiations, also opposed the bid to lower salaries below $4,000.

“We need to move forward,” Ward said.

Also Wednesday, the Budget Committee agreed to restore $125,000 to the Building Improvements line to help pay for the deteriorating clock tower.

The panel had voted to eliminate all $297,500 for capital improvements to the courthouse at an earlier meeting. That included $225,000 for the clock tower, which the panel had recommended the county pay for with bonds.

County Administrator Larry Post, who has talked with a consultant, said it might be possible to find a cheaper way to pay for the project, below the bid price of nearly $300,000.

The panel Wednesday also cut an additional $330 from the Emergency Management Agency budget and $1,500 from revenues.

Titus also tried to cut $500 from EMA’s Building Repairs budget line since the EMA had not spent much of the $1,500 budgeted in the previous two years. The motion passed, 9-2, but will only get forwarded to commissioners as a recommendation because it failed to receive the super majority 11 votes required for adoption.

With two vacancies on the 14-member Budget Committee, reaching the 11-vote threshold has been difficult on some issues.

With its budget review complete, the Budget Committee will hold a public hearing Wednesday, Nov. 2, at 6 p.m. on the second floor of the courthouse.

ssherlock@sunjournal.com

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