FARMINGTON — The Franklin County Budget Committee voted 8-3 Wednesday to override the county commissioners’ changes to the  combined $11.5 million budget.

The overall budget assessment is $1.1 million higher than what was raised last year after factoring revenues. It equates to a nearly $1.39 property tax rate per $1,000 of assessed value. The current tax rate for the existing budget is $1.40.

It eliminates the money for flex benefits for five commissioners, but the committee discussed that commissioners could find the money in the budget to continue the $6,845 benefit for each commissioners on top of their $12,000 annual pay. Commissioners have the sole authority on the county’s money and setting salaries and wages.

The majority of the three commissioners in office in 2016 voted not to take flex benefits and to stick with the $12,000 salary. However, county Administrator Amy Bernard picked up on the fact in October 2022 that county’s personnel policy section for nonunion employees for elected officials was never changed. The county had to give back pay to those individuals including county commissioners, Bernard said previously. That included contributions to their retirement from Maine Public Employees Retirement Services.

The amount of the flex benefits this year for commissioners is a collective total of $30,146 for all five.

Commissioners moved around some money in the budget to try and keep their flex benefits and a part-time position, which comes out of two budgets: commissioners’ and treasurer. Commissioners planned to take part of the money from the unorganized territory budget because a lot of her work is done for the unorganized territory, including coding invoices, but left $6,000 in the treasurer’s budget for the 14-hour-a-week position. Bernard said she will look for other ways to fund the $6,000.

The Budget Advisory Committee was concerned about the increase in the budget for personnel, committee member Richard Morton of Farmington said.

A 3% cost-of-living increase is in the budget for nonunion employees. One contract approved by commissioners gives the union members a 9% increase in wages.

Bernard said she has been trying to make the budget more fair and equitable for nonunion employees since she was hired in May 2022.

Though some committee members didn’t think commissioners did enough to address the increase in the budget, committee member Jay Reynolds of Carrabassett Valley said commissioners did compromise with them on the budget.

“I feel they did compromise and that is how we get things done,” Reynolds said.

Some budget committee members couldn’t understand the metrics of the restructuring of the pay scale — some employees will receive step increases — on top of a cost of living increasing.

Committee Chairperson Tiffany Maiuri of Wilton said she couldn’t replicate the metrics of the raises and steps and that is what she does as a computer person. She said she understands that commissioners work hard and far beyond having two meetings a month and she values what they do.

Committee member Mike Wells of Wilton said the committee is “kind of like the gatekeepers” to make sure the county government doesn’t get out of hand.

Several committee members said they don’t think the five new commissioners as of Jan. 1 ran for the positions for the pay.

Commissioner Tom Saviello of Wilton, who was in the audience, said he thought he was going to get paid $12,000.

Maiuri said she would like the budget committee to sit down with commissioners earlier in the budget process, maybe have some workshops together, to change what she feels turns into an adversarial process into a collaborative effort.