AUBURN — Androscoggin County commissioners avoided a layoff at the jail Wednesday as they worked to fill a $134,000 shortfall.
To fill the hole — forecast in the budget year that began July 1 — the three-member commission cut overtime and took more than $80,000 from an account set aside to fund payroll increases in the coming union contract.
“We commissioners had an obligation to pass a balanced budget,” Chairman Randall Greenwood said. Now, the county has a better chance to finish the year in the black, he said. “Funding 50 weeks or 51 weeks wasn’t enough.”
The bottom line of $5.6 million was passed by the state Board of Corrections last month. The commission and Sheriff Guy Desjardins have been working since to erase the shortfall.
Desjardins warned state officials that he might have to return next spring for more money.
Wednesday’s cuts make that less likely. However, if something breaks in the jail, it might still happen.
“What we have to do now is live with the budget,” Desjardins said.
Commissioner Elaine Makas said she was hopeful that the jail will get by without running out of money. After all, with dozens of workers and a multimillion-dollar budget, there is flexibility to move money between budget lines to keep the bills paid.
“The thing that matters to me is the big picture,” Makas said. “We can be pretty flexible.”
Desjardins and the commissioners worry that the current budget puts off needed work on the jail building, including duct cleaning predicted to cost more than $50,000 and repairs to the roof.
The roof on the 21-year-old building is growing dilapidated with cracks and tears in the shingles, particularly on the south side. Patches have kept it together until now.
“I’ve got to make it last another year,” Desjardins said.
The fight for the 2012-13 budget is slated to begin next week, with a July 13 meeting of the state Corrections Board. Greenwood and Desjardins said they plan to attend.
dhartill@sunjournal.com
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