The Legislature’s State and Local Government Committee heard a wide range of opinions March 29 regarding Lincoln County’s budget process.  A combination of 18 municipal and county officials, former legislators and taxpayers testified about the budget advisory committee’s effectiveness.

They all testified about State Rep. Stephanie Hawke’s bill LD 972, “An Act to Modify the Lincoln County Budget Committee.” The bill would alter how the final county budget is approved. Currently, the county commissioners have the final say. But Hawke’s bill would allow the county budget advisory committee to veto the commissioners’ final proposal.

During the testimony, there was  little to no middle ground on the proposal’s merits.  Most people were either firmly for or against it. Two Wiscasset residents exemplified the divide within the county. Selectman Ben Rines, Jr. described the current process as “a big waste of time.” He has served multiple terms on the budget advisory committee and believes major changes are necessary.
“The committee is an absolute joke,” he said. “At first, it’s fun learning about the budget, it’s more like a big social event, but that is about the extent of it. You make a recommendation, leave, and the commissioners end up doing what they want to.”

But former Wiscasset Selectman Ed Polewarczyk disagreed. He believed the process works. Polewarczyk described county government as being more complex than a municipality.

“There is a district and superior court system along with a county jail so it’s a lot more than attending a few meetings,” he said. “You need to establish a relationship with county personnel to best understand everything involved in a county budget.”

LD 792 is based on past legislation regarding Franklin County’s budget process. Hawke was urged by 38-year South Bristol Selectman and former legislator Chester Rice to submit the bill. Rice has served multiple three-year terms on the county budget advisory committee. Rice wants Lincoln County to adopt the same measure as 11 other counties for adopting a budget. Rice complained the current budget format doesn’t provide enough input from municipalities assessed with high property taxes.

Rice testified South Bristol and four other coastal communities pay close to half the county taxes, but they only have one representative on the budget advisory committee.

“It’s the only local government (county) which approves its own budget without taxpayer approval. Other counties have a similar process and so should Lincoln,” Rice said.

Boothbay Selectman Chuck Cunningham urged the legislative committee to support the bill. Cunningham, a 13-year selectman, has served two three-year terms on the budget advisory committee. He supports LD 972 because the current process doesn’t allow any control by the municipalities.

“The commissioners’ vote is final,” he said. “The committee has no authority and this has led to many frustrations. The committee has voted several times to cut the budget only to see it returned to its original level with no further committee input.”

But another selectman and former legislator testified the current process worked fine. Bremen Selectman and former state representative Wendy Paie is a county budget advisory committee member. She testified the  committee and commissioners had communicated well in past years.  In the past decade, county expenditures rose from $9.6 million to $10.9 million, an average increase of 1.5 percent per year, according to county officials.

“The money in the county is well spent,” she said. “They have responded to our recommendations in developing a thoughtful, responsible budget.”

Under LD 972, the current budget advisory committee would expand from nine to 19 members. Each municipality would have one representative appointed to a one-year term. The advisory committee would recommend a budget to the commissioners who could only amend it by a unanimous vote. The budget committee could veto any changes with a two-thirds vote.

While the proposal has drawn mixed responses from municipal leaders, county officials steadfastly oppose it. All three county commissioners testified in opposition as did County Administrator Carrie Kipfer and Sheriff Todd Brackett. County officials testified budget committee recommendations were incorporated in recent budgets. One recommendation required county employees to contribute to their health insurance premiums.

In the last union contract, the commissioners negotiated for employees to pay 10 percent of health insurance premiums. In past years, the county paid all employee health insurance costs.

“We are the ones held accountable by the voters. We should have the final say on the budget. The system is not broke so please don’t fix it,”  said County Commissioner Hamilton Meserve.

The State and Local Government Committee members had concerns about two aspects of the bill.  State Senator Susan Deschambault (D-Biddeford) questioned whether the proposal violated the “one man, one vote” provision of the state constitution. The current budget committee has nine members elected by the three county district caucuses. Each district has approximately the same population. Under LD 792, Bremen, with 700 residents, would have the same representation as Waldoboro, which has approximately 5,000 residents.

The senator also had concerns about the length of budget committee members’ terms. The current process has members serving for three years. The bill would change committee terms to one year. “I don’t think that’s long enough to learn about the budget,” she said.

State Representative and bill co-sponsor Mick Devin (D-Newcastle) agreed the bill shouldn’t be submitted to the full legislature as presently written. Devin has concerns about no quorum being required for committee votes.

“The committee has 19 representatives and I have serious doubts if Monhegan Island would ever send a representative. Also there is no quorum so the committee could decide a county budget with as few as five or six votes. So I urge you against sending this bill to the floor in its current form,” Devin said.

The State and Local Government Committee will hold a work session regarding LD 792 at 9 a.m. Wednesday, April 5 in Room 214 of the Burton M. Cross Building at the state capitol complex.