Oxford County commissioners, foreground, are joined Sept. 17 by Daughters of the American Revolution representatives Beth Calhoun, left, and Sherry Edwards for a formal proclamation declaring Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week in recognition of the 237th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States. Seated in their office at the Oxford County Superior Courthouse in Paris are Commissioners, from left, Tim Turner of Buckfield, Chairperson David Duguay of Byron and Steven Merrill of Norway. Evan Houk/Advertiser Democrat

PARIS — Oxford County commissioners addressed questions concerning emergency dispatch delays and a $500,000 tax typo at their meeting Sept. 17.

County Administrator Zane Loper said staffing the Oxford County Regional Communications Center in Paris is a top priority, but it is having trouble filling the four full-time positions.

Commissioners hired two part-time, temporary dispatchers at a rate of $33 per hour. Caroline Hill and Rachel Horning are detectives with the state Bureau of Motor Vehicles and have qualifications to answer the business line and handle other nonemergency calls, but they are not fully trained, according to Communications Director Geffrey Inman.

“I think they’d be a great fit here,” Loper said.

Three dispatchers are in training, which takes about 20 weeks, and they will be ready to work sometime in October, but the county still needs to hire four full-time dispatchers.

“Getting people to do the job is what we need the most,” Inman said.

“The tide of complaints has ebbed at this point,” Sweden Deputy Fire Chief and Oxford County Communication Advisory Board Chairperson Tommie McKenzie said of the dispatch delays reported at the commissioners’ last workshop. “I trust the county commissioners and the county administrator will diligently look into the issues that were presented last time we met.”

“Please continue to give us public comment on the situation,” Loper said.

The Communications Advisory Board will next meet at noon on Nov. 14.

Oxford County Treasurer Beth Calhoun also addressed the issue of corrected tax bills sent to all 35 towns and the unorganized territories last month, four months after the original tax bills went out.

She told Rumford Town Manager George O’Keefe the town can have until Dec. 25, 2025, to pay since tax bills were already sent to residents. In order to collect enough to cover the corrected tax bill, the town would have to pay to send another round of tax bills this year because the extra expense was not budgeted.

“I don’t want to put the towns in a position to send out corrected tax bills,” Calhoun said.

A typo led to a $500,000 shortfall in the county budget, leading to the corrected bills.

The corrected bills included additional charges above what towns had already budgeted. The additional charges ranged from $1,806 for Gilead to $42,454 for Newry.

Rumford received a corrected bill that added $29,648 and Mexico received a bill that asked for an extra $6,436.

Calhoun said each town can reach out to her directly to discuss on a case-by-case basis payment arrangements. She stressed that the tax bill is not an extra assessment but was caused by a typo that had to be corrected.

“We’re not asking for more than what was initially committed,” Calhoun said.

Some towns have already paid the bill in full, while others have not.

“You should pay half of it,” Mexico Selectman Randy Canwell said. “That’s not on us, that’s on you people.”

In other business, commissioners approved a proclamation declaring the week of Sept. 17-23 as Constitution Week in recognition of the 237th anniversary of the drafting of the Constitution of the United States.

Commissioners “ask our citizens to reaffirm the ideals the Framers of the Constitution had in 1787 by vigilantly protecting the freedoms guaranteed to us through this guardian of our liberties, remembering that lost rights may never be regained,” Oxford County Commission Chairperson David Duguay of Byron read.

Commissioners were joined by Daughters of the American Revolution representatives, county Treasurer Beth Calhoun and Sherry Edwards.

The commission will next meet for a workshop at 9 a.m. Octo. 3 at the Oxford County Superior Courthouse on Western Avenue.