Androscoggin County Administrator Larry Post stands in the commissioners’ office Wednesday morning in the Androscoggin County Building on Turner Street in Auburn. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal
AUBURN — Larry Post stepped into a hornet’s nest when he became Androscoggin County’s first administrator in October 2015.
The county was facing a lawsuit by 12 of the 14 municipalities in the county challenging the powers of the County Commission to set the county budget and their own salaries. The other crisis was its relationship with the labor union representing employees who had worked three years without a contract.
With his catchphrase, “Life is good in Androscoggin County,” and in his quiet, modest and unassuming way, Post steered the county forward with the new governmental structure with an administrator carrying out the policy of the commissioners while in charge of the management of county business.
Post worked to repair the relationships with most of the municipalities following a decision in 2016 when a judge ruled in favor of the county on most of the legal matters and helped to settle the long labor impasse when the county and union agreed on a retroactive contract.
After more than six years serving as administrator, Post is stepping down. He announced his resignation at Wednesday’s commission meeting. It takes effect June 3.
“I would not change one minute of the last 6½ years,” Post said. “This has been a wonderful place to be. In my occupation there’s been ups and downs. There comes a point in time in all things and it’s come to that time.”
Post, 69, and his wife, Bonnie, have two adult children.
He came to Androscoggin County following two years as city manager in Eastport. Prior to that, he was administrator for Somerset County.
“That first year (in Auburn) was somewhat difficult because of the change in the way things had been done,” Post said. “That took up a lot of energy and unfortunately we lost energy that we could have used in improving things. But then it became easier to navigate. The staff that I had has been absolute fabulous.”
In a three-paragraph statement, commissioners praised Post’s work.
“The Androscoggin County commissioners would like to thank Larry Post for his years of service to our county,” the statement said. “As Androscoggin’s first county administrator, he took on the hard work of transitioning the county to a charter form of government and setting up the administrator’s office. As its inaugural holder he will be remembered as a trailblazer with a long list of accomplishments and accolades.”
The statement continued, “Mr. Post aptly led employees and the board through uncharted waters and then through the daily business of governing one of Maine’s most populous counties for seven years. At the biweekly commissioners meeting, no matter what was entailed in his administrator’s report, he would close by letting the commissioners know that “life is good in Androscoggin County.” His closing line is something we all can agree with — regardless of our individual politics.
“As he leaves Androscoggin County, we wish Mr. Post the very best in his future endeavors and thank him for his steadfast service. Whether it be chasing his passion of fishing in a quiet stream, or the challenge of a new position elsewhere, we are confident that, for Mr. Post, ‘life will be good,'” the commissioners’ statement said.
While reluctant to name his biggest accomplishment, building trust with the union might be it. Negotiations have advanced smoothly since his arrival. The county and the union appear to have developed a relationship of trust and mutual respect. They recently agreed to a new three-year deal.
“The last couple of union contracts have been more of a genuine conversation than a conflict,” Post said. “That’s one of the things that I have appreciated, and I think they have as well.”
Helping Post along the way was a dedicated group of department heads with virtually no turnover during his tenure. The group worked well together, especially during the budget process.
“One of the things I’ve been really blessed with is that staff that I’ve had,” Post said. “That has been just an absolute pleasure.”
“One of the things I tried to do is make sure the staff felt appreciated,” he added.
Like most government agencies, the county had its challenges dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, including briefly finding itself in the middle of the anti-mask protests when a former commissioner introduced an anti-mask resolution. After a brief shutdown, Post quickly reopened county business.
“It was tough to maintain some semblance of normalcy and sanity, and some of that in various places seemed to get thrown out the window,” Post said. “It was a challenging time. The most challenging was the lack of interactions with others. I’m sorry, but that ZOOM thing is not a good way to have interactions.”
Post leaves office with the status of a new Sheriff’s Department building still undetermined. The county purchased the former Evergreen Subaru property on Center Street in Auburn, two miles north of the county building as the future home of the county’s law enforcement agency, but the city, unhappy with the location, placed a 180-day moratorium to review its zoning policies.
“We’ll see where things go,” Post said. “It’s still a work in progress. I think it’s going to turn out well.”
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