AUBURN — Noel Madore and Sally Christner will lead the Androscoggin County Commission for the next two years.
Madore of Lewiston was elected chairman, while Christner of Turner will serve as vice chairwoman. Madore was last year’s vice chairman, and Christner, the longest-serving commissioner, has served in both capacities.
Four newly elected commissioners — Brian Ames and John Butler of Lewiston, John Michael of Auburn and Terri Kelly of Mechanic Falls — took the oath of office, as did Christner, who won a second term in November.
The other two commissioners — Madore and Isaiah Lary of Wales — are at the midpoint of their four-year terms.
The new commissioners received a brief orientation at Wednesday’s meeting, with each department head providing an overview of their county operations.
The only department heads missing were Register of Probate Thomas Reynolds and District Attorney Andrew Robinson, who both attended the governor’s inauguration in Augusta, according to County Administrator Larry Post.
In her talk to the new members of the board, Christner urged them to ask questions. She also stressed county government is local government, meaning nonpartisan, and commissioners serve as a voice for their communities.
“Don’t take someone’s opinion personally,” Christner said.
Madore discussed the commissioners’ accomplishments during the past couple of years, including the new dispatch center, repairs to the building — most notably the clock tower — and the successful negotiation of a new union contract.
Lary urged the new commissioners to tour the county building and the jail, and to visit with the department heads and ask them questions.
Commissioners selected Butler to serve on the Maine County Commissioners Association and the association’s self-funded risk pool, while Kelly will join the Central/Western Maine Workforce Board.
Commissioners also adopted the meeting schedule for 2019. Meetings will be held on the first and third Wednesdays of the month, with one exception: The board agreed to move the July 3 meeting to July 10.
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