AUBURN — The Androscoggin County Budget Committee will feature several new faces this year.
Only six of the 14 members of the committee were nominated Wednesday evening to serve another three-year term.
There is no guarantee those six members will be on the committee. Municipal officials will vote for two candidates from the list of nominees in each of the seven county districts.
Seven caucuses were held at the Androscoggin County courthouse Wednesday during a break in the Androscoggin County Commission meeting. Commissioners chaired the nomination caucus for their respective county district with municipal officials — selectmen, councilors and managers — nominating residents.
The Budget Committee consists of two members from each of the seven districts. At least one member from each district must be a municipal official.
Some caucuses were better attended than others. No one from Lewiston in District 2 attended, while District 6, which includes Mechanic Falls, Poland and parts of Auburn, had four residents nominated.
The caucuses began following much confusion about the process as municipal officials and county commissioners worked through issues of who could nominate candidates, who could vote and whether the Charter was being followed.
Budget Committee members seeking another term are Lewiston City Councilor Michael Lachance, Greene Selectman Anthony Reny, Sabattus Selectman Guy Desjardins, Auburn City Councilor Andrew Titus, Mechanic Falls Town Councilor Stephen Bolduc and Poland resident Norman Beauparlant.
The list of former committee members not returning includes last year’s chairwoman, Emily Darby of Minot, and vice chairman, Michael Marcotte of Lewiston.
Candidates nominated for the Budget Committee include:
• District 1 (Lewiston): Lachance, Tina Hutchinson, Robert Reed;
• District 2 (Lewiston): None;
• Dictrict 3 (Greene, Durham, part of Lewiston): Reny, Wade Caplinger, Joline Landry Beam;
• District 4 (Lisbon, Sabattus, Wales): Allen Ward, Guy Desjardins, Nicholas Gayton;
• District 5 (part of Auburn): Titus;
• District 6 (Mechanic Falls, Poland, part of Auburn): Bolduc, Beauparlant, Nicholas Konstantoulakis; William Eldridge;
• District 7 (Leeds, Livermore, Liv. Falls, Minot, Turner): Kevin Nichols.
Written ballots will be sent to the municipalities in each district, where municipal officials will vote for two candidates. The ballots will be counted at the Aug. 17 meeting of the county commissioners.
The committee, once chosen, has the power to fill the vacancies for Districts 2, 5 and 7.
The Budget Committee reviews the Androscoggin County budget that is prepared by the county commissioners. Which party has the final say on the budget has been in dispute the past couple of years, with 12 of the 14 county municipalities filing suit against the county. The case remains in the court.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners:
• Approved, with only Randall Greenwood opposing, increasing the hourly rate by $2 for reserve officers throughout the Sheriff’s Office to $12 for newly hired personnel and $14 upon completion of required training;
• Approved a bid from Axis to provide six computers and 12 monitors for the Sheriff’s Office for $8,184;
• Approved a bid from Sprinkler Systems Inc. to replace sprinkler heads for $9,100, which was nearly half the price of a competing bid.
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