MINOT — Selectmen told town administrator Arlan Saunders that they don’t have the authority to pay the $20,421 the town of Poland says Minot owes as its share of Regional School Unit 16’s start-up costs.

According to the bill Poland sent selectmen in January, school officials spent $111,462 — mainly for legal fees ($45,610) and software changes ($56,211) — setting up the new school system that serves Mechanic Falls, Minot and Poland.

The state agreed to pay $10,369 of these costs, leaving school officials with bills totaling $101,093 and no money with which to pay them.

Poland town officials stepped in and paid the bills, and they now want Minot and Mechanic Falls to pay their shares. 

In January, selectmen set Poland’s request aside but Monday night Saunders told the board that Poland officials were inquiring about when they could expect Minot’s payment. 

“I need to respond,” Saunders said. 

“The question to start with is who authorized the expenditures,” board Chairman Dean Campbell said. He noted that selectmen can’t spend money that hasn’t been authorized by town meeting.

“Dana Lee (Poland town manager) can’t authorize expenditures for the town of Minot. I never heard of another town agreeing to spend for another town without contacting the other town,” Campbell said.

He suggested that RSU 16 could straighten matters out by repaying Poland now and assessing the three towns for the $101,093 start-up costs in next year’s budget.

Selectmen directed Saunders to set up a meeting with everyone involved as soon as possible since Minot’s town meeting will be held on March 6 and the request for $20,421 to pay for the start-up costs could be put before voters then if that is the course that must be taken. 

In other business, selectmen, at the suggestion of the town auditor, accepted for review a fraud policy; agreed to place a town cemetery ordinance on the warrant March meeting warrant; and approved developer Lloyd Poland’s request that his property in West Minot, which is part of his Woods Estates subdivision, remain assessed under the tree growth program until he is ready to begin development. 

Town Treasurer Connie Taker noted that in addition to awards from town-managed scholarship funds announced two weeks ago, checks from the Kurt Theriault Memorial scholarship fund have been sent to Sierra Ferguso, Owen Hicks, Joey Hunt III and Lana Wheeler.

Highway foreman Scott Parker reported that the recent snow draught has allowed his crew to get caught up with maintenance work on the plow gear. 

“If the weather stays like this, the crew will be cutting brush along roadsides this week,” Parker said.