Androscoggin County Budget Committee Opens Six-Month Budget Review

The Androscoggin County Budget Committee held its first public hearing on a six-month county budget on September 23, 2026, electing a chair and vice chair and hearing presentations from several county departments. The committee approved revenue and expense lines for emergency management, the district attorney's restitution specialist, the registry of deeds, and probate, while postponing a vote on the district attorney's expenditure budget. Members raised questions about a roughly $4 million tax anticipation note, insurance increases, and passport service costs in the probate office.

Key points

• The committee elected a chair and nominated Steve Robinson as vice chair, and seated new members, leaving one seat unfilled for District 4 (Lisbon, Sabattus, Wales).
• Emergency management director Chad Harris presented a budget with about $3,000 in added costs, offset by a federal emergency preparedness grant that rose from $136,000 to $145,000.
• The committee approved $18,000 in revenue and $43,259 in expenditures for the district attorney's restitution specialist after questions about benefits running about 48 percent of salary.
• A motion to postpone the district attorney's expenditure line item passed, with staff asked to break out hardware, software, and tablet costs for a future meeting.
• The registry of deeds reported lower revenue, tied to a state housing stability fund taking a larger share of recording fees and a first-time homebuyer tax exemption.
• Probate registrar Tom Reynolds sought a new clerk position, citing rising passport demand; members debated whether passport photo fees should rise to cover costs.

Next steps

• The district attorney's expenditure budget will return at a future meeting with a breakdown of hardware, software, and equipment costs.
• The committee will meet again Wednesday, September 30, with a final department head meeting October 7, a contingency date October 8, and a public hearing and budget finalization October 28.
• Staff will verify how employee benefits for the emergency management position are funded and report back.

Read the full transcript