AUBURN — The conversion of Androscoggin County’s government takes its first steps next week, using new rules to select a county budget committee.
Commissioners and municipal officials from across the county will convene at 6 p.m. Aug. 21 in the Androscoggin County Building to caucus and nominate potential members for the budget committee.
“We’ve had a similar budget process for a long time, but it’s all changed now,” County Clerk Patricia Fournier said. “This is all new to us, and we’re going through the learning process.”
This year, according to a charter adopted by voters last fall, the committee will be much bigger with less influence on the final county budget.
“Now, they can submit a budget but the commissioners have final say,” Fournier said. “That’s not the way it’s been.”
The charter divides the county into seven districts, and voters will go to the polls in 2014 to elect a new seven-member county commission. Those commissioners take office at the beginning of 2015.
But Fournier said the new charter’s budget process begins right away. The charter expands the number of budget committee members from 11 — three representatives from the three old districts plus two legislators — to 14. Each district will be represented by two residents. At least one must be a municipal official — either the mayor, a councilor or selectman or the manager.
The first two districts are entirely in Lewiston, and the third is made up of parts of Lewiston, all of Greene and Durham.
The fourth district is made up of Wales, Sabattus and Lisbon. The fifth district is entirely in Auburn and the sixth district is made up of part of Auburn and all of Poland and Mechanic Falls. The seventh district is made up of Minot, Turner, Leeds, Livermore and Livermore Falls.
Representatives from each district will have 15 minutes to nominate members at the Aug. 21 caucus: District one’s 15 minutes begin at 6 p.m., District 2’s at 6:15 and so on.
“For example, Lewiston councilors can make nominations for District one, two and three as long as they are from that district,” she said. “We will create a ballot and send it to the municipal offices. They vote at a meeting and need to return them to me by Sept. 10. The county commission will ratify them and then we send them to the Secretary of State.”
The committee gets the county’s proposed budget by Oct. 1, according to charter rules and they have until mid-December to review it, ratify it and send it to county commissioners.
In the past, the committee has had the final say on the entire budget and could pass it with a simple majority vote. The charter gives a more limited ability. The committee can vote to change individual line items, but only if they have an 11-out-of-14 vote super majority.
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