LEWISTON — Less than a week after four new commissioners were sworn in, the seven-member Androscoggin County Commission plans to respond to complaints from most of the county’s 14 towns and cities.
The complaints are related to the commission’s choice to overturn deep salary cuts for commissioners set by the county’s Budget Committee. They will be part of a wide-ranging talk that is also scheduled to include the creation of bylaws for the group and how to begin hiring the county’s first administrator.
“It’s going to be a hodgepodge,” Commissioner Elaine Makas said. “So many things need to be discussed.”
One controversial issue was handled at the Jan. 8 inaugural meeting: the fate of Commissioner Randall Greenwood. Commissioners voted 6-1 in favor of allowing Greenwood to continue serving as a commissioner, despite warnings from the Maine Attorney General’s Office that serving as a commissioner and a state legislator could be legally precarious.
Greenwood had been waiting for guidance from the state on whether he could legally hold both positions.
None came, surprising the newly elected legislator, who represents Wales, Litchfield and part of Monmouth at the State House and Wales, Sabattus and Lisbon for the county.
Assistant Attorney General Phillis Gardiner declined to issue an opinion on his case, saying in a letter to Greenwood she was unconvinced that a 30-year-old opinion, which said that holding both jobs violated the Maine Constitution, was invalidated by changes at the state and county level, nor was it a “legislative matter” requiring her office’s action.
Gardiner also warned that a vote by Greenwood on the county commission could be the basis for a lawsuit.
The county’s lawyer, Bryan Dench, disagreed, saying there is no legal prohibition to holding both jobs.
“I have to say that I was confused. We had two different positions” new Commissioner Alfreda Fournier of Auburn said. In the end, she sided with Greenwood. “Who am I to determine that (Greenwood’s status) should be different if our lawyer says it shouldn’t be an issue?” Fournier asked.
Only longtime Commissioner Makas voted against Greenwood’s continued service, saying defending his position could be costly.
“I felt it was dangerous for us to vote to say that we were supporting him and making the decision, because that would put the burden on the taxpayers of Androscoggin County,” Makas said.
On Monday, Greenwood insisted that he would manage both jobs fully.
“If I don’t believe I can do my job, I’ll be the first to say ‘It’s time for me to go,'” he said.
Greenwood said he plans to be there Wednesday when the commission takes up the issue of complaints. In all, leaders in 10 municipalities — Greene, Lisbon, Mechanic Falls, Sabattus, Turner, Auburn, Lewiston, Leeds, Durham and Poland — have sent letters to commissioners expressing dissatisfaction over commissioner’s compensation.
Twice, the Androscoggin County Budget Committee voted to slash pay and eliminate benefits for members of the commission.
Gone were family health and dental plans, worth as much as $18,000 per person. Salary was lowered from $8,292 for the chairman and $7,200 for the other commissioners to $3,500 and $3,000, respectively.
On Nov. 25, commissioners voted 2-0 to overturn the cut and pass their own version of a cut, proposed by themselves weeks earlier.
Commissioners Beth Bell and Elaine Makas voted in favor of $5,000 in base salary, the same $500 boost for the chairman and individual health care plans worth about $8,400 per person. Greenwood abstained.
Members of the county Budget Committee argued that they had the authority to set those salaries and have appealed to the Attorney General’s Office for a ruling on its legality.
Commissioners Greenwood, Makas and Fournier all said Monday that the complaints deserve something from the commission, whether it is an individual town-by-town response or a blanket statement addressing all of the issues.
“It’s only fair to at least respond to them,” Greenwood said.
dhartill@sunjournal.com
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