County budget committee begins work

By Stuart Hedstrom
Staff Writer

DOVER-FOXCROFT — A day before the first meeting of the budget advisory committee, Interim County Manager Tom Lizotte provided the commissioners with a brief overview of the current spending plan during the Oct. 4 session.

“The budget committee has their first meeting tomorrow night here at 6 o’clock,” Lizotte said. “The bottom line is coming into focus.”

Lizotte said the early projections have the county portion of the budget up by about $25,000 from 2016. He said this is equal to .5 percent, and the amount could be reduced more over the next few weeks.

The interim county manager said the largest request made is a switch in the district attorney office’s investigator position from part-time to full-time. Lizotte said the Piscataquis County Emergency Management Agency has asked for a storage building and this structure could be combined with the sheriff’s office to be built on the site of the impound lot.

Should a storage building be erected then a potential new sheriff’s office space could be smaller, and therefore less costly if the structure is brought to the public in a referendum sometime in the future.

“The (unorganized territory) budget is a larger increase than the county budget because of paving and the bridge work in Williamsburg,” Lizotte said.

He said the current plans are for $100,000 to be used from surplus, $75,000 more than last year.

In other business, the commissioners signed documents granting permission for the Moosehead Lake Region Economic Development Corporation to install wayfinding signs within the county right of way. The corporation will maintain and repair the signs, which will be installed later in the month, as needed.

The commissioners also signed 2017 fire and solid waste contracts with the town of Monson to provide these services in Blanchard and Elliotsville. Lizotte said these agreements are normally taken care of in February but are being done now before the departure of Monson Town Manager Lucas Butler.

The fire contracts will again be for $9,000 apiece, and the solid waste agreements remain unchanged at $9,950 each.