AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Commission awarded County Administrator Larry Post with a contract extension for another three years.

The vote Wednesday was 5-1, with only Isaiah Lary of Wales opposing the deal.

Post’s current contract ends Oct. 19. The new deal will keep Post running the day-to-day operations in  Androscoggin County through Oct. 19, 2023.

His salary will rise from $80,000 to $83,000 on Jan. 1, 2021, $86,000 in 2022, and $90,000 in 2023.

Post also gets four weeks of paid vacation in 2021 and five weeks in the final two years of the deal.

After being tabled at the last meeting, Lary told commissioners that he felt the size of the yearly raise was too generous in the current climate.

He attempted to make a few changes to the contract. He first proposed a 3% raise each year ($600 less in the first year) and to change the termination clause to “with or without cause.” After that failed, Lary proposed striking the three-month severance pay for termination. After commissioners defeated that proposal 5-1, his bid to table to contract extension failed due to the lack of a second.

Chairman John Michael and Commissioners Sally Christner, Terri Kelly, Noel Madore and Marc Roy voted in favor of the extension.

The board adopted a couple of minor changes to the bylaws. The first change was to allow items added to the agenda upon the vote of four of the seven members. The second dealt with the chairman of the board.

“The chair serves at the pleasure of the board. The chair may be overruled on any matter by a vote of four board members. The chair may be removed or replaced at any time by a vote of four members.”

Both of those changes passed 5-1 with Madore voting no both times.

Commissioners were more divided over a proposal to limit the number of consecutive terms someone may serve as chairman. The majority appeared to favor a one-year term.

The way the proposal is written, that provision can be suspended if five commissioners support keeping the same chairman for another term.

“I like the idea of spreading the talent around,” Michael said in support of changing the chairman each year.

Lary thought two years was the better option.

Madore, meanwhile, opposed making any change to the current policy.

“The chair doesn’t really have any power,” Madore said. “We’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist.”

Commissioners voted 4-2 to support the one-year term at its first reading. Commissioners will need to vote on it two more times before it becomes the policy, Post said.

Following the meeting, commissioners held their second budget meeting of the season to hear department heads present their budget for 2021. Commissioners were troubled by the large increases in the Information Technology account presented by Douglas Butler, the county’s new IT director. Butler saw some deficiencies in security and firewalls that he feels require immediate action.

But with commissioners in a cutting mood due to the economy and the effects of COVID-19, that proposed budget is unlikely to escape unscathed. Butler is proposing a 36% increase, while the proposed overall county budget is 3.6%.

That’s too high from many commissioners, Lary suggested that the county should follow Gov. Janet Mills’ directive that each department cut their spending by 10%.

Roy said his goal is a 0% increase for the budget.

“This will be a difficult budget season,” Christner said. “Everything is on the table, as far as I am concerned except employee benefits and wages.”

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Kennedy Park outdoor event will take place this weekend despite councilor concerns

Next »

Dozens tell Auburn School Committee its reopening plan is not safe