Piscataquis County ends 2025 in the black
DOVER-FOXCROFT — Revenues covered expenses in the 2025 Piscataquis County budget.
“We ended up in the black, but not by a lot,” County Manager Mike Williams said during a Tuesday morning meeting of the Piscataquis County Commissioners.
The 2025 calendar ended up having an extra payroll and several areas of the budget were over, Williams said about the near $6.8 budget approved in December of 2024.
“I would take a moment to commend you and all the department heads,” Commissioners Chair Paul Davis said.
He said other Maine counties are facing budget issues, such as large increases or difficulties in getting a budget together.
“We think with what is happening around the state we are very blessed with our department heads,” Commissioner Andy Torbett said.
This year’s county budget totals just over $7.1 million. This figure is up by nearly $325,000 (4.78%) from 2025’s $6,794,951. After applying $933,601 in county revenues, a net amount of $6,186,333 needs to be raised proportionally through taxes across the 18 county towns and plantations.
In other business Williams said, “As a whole the (unorganized territories) are in pretty good shape road wise.”
Road Consultant Carl Henderson told Williams that a few travelways need to have an eye kept on them for when spring starts to arrive and the dirt surfaces thaw.
The commissioners heard from Piscataquis Area Community Center Executive Director Manda Stewart.
“Our pool is up and running, it is warm and we are running programs,” she said about the restored aquatic area of the Park Street facility that formerly was the home of the Piscataquis Regional YMCA until the organization was closed in the fall of 2024.
Right now there are only two lifeguards including Stewart, so more are being sought as well as full-time aquatics director, she said.
About 75 more top-tier memberships (these are gold, silver and bronze) are needed to cover all the lifeguard expenses.
“We need 10 bodies in every single thing we are doing to cover the expenses of lifeguarding,” Stewart said.
When asked, she said the PACC has about 1,300 members.
“Our membership is very close to covering our operating expenses,” the executive director said.
There are about 75 gold members who pay $60 a month and this enables them to take part in all programs and use all the facilities. A $100 family membership for four has the same opportunities.
Silver membership enables use of the facilities that are staffed and bronze membership allows use of non-staffed parts of the building.
“When this went down I thought ‘what else are we doing to lose in the county?,’ so thank you for restoring it,” Davis said.