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By Diana Bowley, Of the NEWS Staff - DOVER-FOXCROFT - At a time when municipalities are under extreme budget restraints, town officials are looking at county government to fill some of their unmet needs, a town official told Piscataquis County commissioners on Tuesday.Sophia Wilson, Brownville town manager, cautioned the commissioners that now may not be the time to cut county expenses. She said there is a trend to shift services from the towns to Piscataquis County, in an effort to regionalize as more residents migrate out of the county. The Brownville Board of Selectmen has joined its sister boards in the county in support of a $75,000 request in the budget for the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council. Wilson said the PCEDC is the "crucial cornerstone for future economic growth in Brownville and throughout Piscataquis County." Wilson did strongly recommend that the economic development funds be shared by the unorganized territories. The commissioners also were urged Tuesday to keep the budgets of the registrar of deeds and probate intact, despite recommended cuts by the budget advisory committee. The committee recommended that all county employees not represented by a bargaining unit receive a cost-of-living increase of 1.4 percent, the same increase Social Security recipients are expected to receive. Linda Smith, register of deeds, and Judy Raymond, register of probate, both urged commissioners to support their requests for a pay raise of 5 percent plus a 1.5 percent cost-of-living increase. Smith now receives a salary of $24,109 and has requested a salary of $25,676. Smith reminded commissioners that this would represent the first significant pay raise she has had since her election four years ago, she said. Hourly wage employees are given automatic 5 percent merit steps followed by longevity raises of 3 percent based on their experience and services, she told the commissioners. Smith said her office projected revenue of $120,000 last year but actually received $162,000. She said revenues were projected this year at $130,000 but $161,000 has been received to date. "I felt the money was there," she said, referring to a raise. Raymond said she is serving her 12th year in the elected office and has had only two raises. She receives $22,253 a year and has requested $23,699 in 2003. Budget committee Chairman Janice McAllister, who attended the meeting, told the elected officials that the recommendation took into consideration what the county contributed for health insurance coverage. Robert Wilson, emergency management agency director, defended his request as well. Cuts of $2,500 were proposed by the committee in his budget. Wilson said the actual savings to the county would be about $1,250 because the federal government reimburses 50 percent of his department costs. The proposed county and unorganized territories budgets will be presented at a public hearing at 7 p.m. Nov. 25 in the courthouse, followed by budget adoption by the commissioners next month. The final determination on the unorganized territories budget will be given by the legislative taxation committee. In other business, the commissioners learned they no longer needed to conduct post-closure sampling of the closed Lily Bay landfill, and awarded the audits of the county and unorganized territories to Brantner, Thibodeau and Associates for a three-year term at a total of $1,900 per year. |