STRONG — Even before Gov. Janet Mills signed emergency legislation Wednesday, selectmen, the town clerk and treasurer met to decide how best to keep the government running, while keeping its employees and the public safe from spread of the coronavirus.
Starting Thursday, the Town Office, library and the rest of the Forster Memorial Building will be closed, as selectmen follow federal and state health guidelines for containing the COVID-19 pandemic.
On Wednesday, Mills signed into law an omnibus emergency bill that gives municipal officials greater flexibility to keep local governments operating while keeping everyone safe and healthy.
The new law allows town officers to postpone a scheduled secret-ballot election by posting notice in a public location at least two days beforehand, and to use previously printed ballots, according to Town Clerk Betsy DuBois.
The clerk is breathing a sigh of relief after being deluged with phone calls about the status of the annual election of municipal officials, originally expected to be held Friday at the Forster Memorial Building. The town meeting was expected to continue Saturday morning.
Based on authority provided by the new bill, DuBois will post the current warrant and set elections for Friday, May 1, and the town meeting for Saturday, May 2.
Working from home Wednesday, she said she attempted to stay ahead of the hourly updates at the state and federal levels.
“I’m one of the many Maine town clerks who are dealing with questions that we’ve never had to answer before,” DuBois said. “I think we’re all doing our best to find answers and hope everyone will be patient and understanding.”
DuBois said she’s already been asked how to license a dog and register a vehicle.
Some of these tasks can be done by mail and online, she said.
DuBois and town Treasurer Sandra Mitchell will continue to answer the Town Office phone, reply to emails and go to the post office each day.
The Maine Municipal Association posted new guidelines Wednesday afternoon regarding municipal budgets and elections, Dubois said. If town meetings are postponed, towns can continue to fund government operations at the same budget levels approved for the previous year.
Mitchell can pay the bills, collect taxes and pay the employees using the authority of the warrant signed by the municipal officers outside of a public meeting, according to Wednesday’s update.
Because selectmen also serve as assessors, the law will authorize them to commit taxes based on the previous year’s budget levels, if the pandemic lasts through the summer.
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