JAY — Several services listed on a survey sent out by Franklin County commissioners are already being done in a joint effort to save money, Town Manager Ruth Cushman said.
Commissioners sent out a survey in August asking towns if they were interested in potentially regionalizing services at the county level. It is a Maine County Commissioners Association initiative to help towns save money.
Cushman told selectmen Monday that she met with town managers from Farmington, Carrabassett Valley and Wilton last week to discuss the survey and the possibility of regionalizing services. Other town managers were invited but were not able to attend.
“It was a great meeting,” she said.
One of things that came out of it was that they all agreed that to see efficiencies happen at the county level, they would like to see five commissioners and a county administrator, Cushman said. Currently there are three commissioners representing the county.
Among the services listed are airport operation and maintenance, animal control, building inspection and code enforcement, community and economic development, financial management, accounting and auditing, fire-rescue districts and general assistance.
Other public services listed include administration of grants, information technology, insurance programs, joint purchasing, libraries, parks operation and management, property tax billing, road maintenance and capital projects, schools and education, public transportation and solid waste management.
Some of the items on the list did not apply and several are already being done regionally, including joint purchasing, or by private businesses, she said.
Carrabassett Valley Town Manager Dave Cota shared a copy of the law that authorizes county commissions to provide municipal services, Cushman said.
Under the law, regional services would not be paid for through taxation but by the towns that use the services, she said.
Cushman asked the board what they wanted her to do about the survey.
“Everything is working fine, right now,” Selectperson Pearl Cook said.
In her opinion, Cushman said everything that is proposed would need to be studied to see if there would be savings and what affect it would have on residents.
She said she could not see someone needing general assistance going to Farmington. Some of the people who do need the assistance walk to the Jay Town Office.
Board Vice Chairman Justin Merrill said it would be up to commissioners to show how the towns would save money.
“It would be up to them to do the study to show the efficiencies,” he said.
Cushman said she wouldn’t want the ladder truck that taxpayers bought to make sure firefighters could help protect paper mill and residences moved to another town.
Selectperson Tim DeMillo said the town has done a lot to get control of spending and saving money.
dperry@sunjournal.com
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