Androscoggin County Budget Committee reviews six-month budget requests

The Androscoggin County Budget Committee held a public hearing on the county's six-month budget, reviewing line items for the district attorney, county administrator, human resources, finance, auditing, employee benefits, insurance, and county buildings. Members approved most expenditures as presented, debated a request for a detailed employee position and salary list, and discussed the county's transition from a calendar-year to a fiscal-year budget.

Key points

• Committee member Brian Names requested an FY26 and FY27 employee list with positions, salaries, and benefits; the finance office said breaking out benefits by employee is not feasible because benefits are budgeted in a single line, and the request was left unresolved.
• The committee approved roughly $526,000 in district attorney expenditures and $100,463 for the county administrator and commissioners, with $40,000 for a regional jail consultant removed.
• Members approved $43,076 for human resources, $112,357 for the finance department, $20,700 for auditing, $1,886,604 for employee benefits, and $203,000 for insurance.
• The committee approved $160,029 for the county building and $81,100 for 455 Elizabeth Street, and took up budgets for 184 Main Street and 774 Center Street.
• Officials said the county will need two audits during the fiscal-year transition and that health insurance costs are rising about 15 percent.
• Discussion covered Auburn's decision to tax county-owned properties not used for county purposes, with officials noting the annual tax bill could rise from about $30,000 to $60,000.

Next steps

• The county administrator said a decision on town billing frequency (possibly September and March payments) is expected on an upcoming commissioners' agenda.
• The committee plans to continue reviewing remaining department budgets at its next meeting.

Read the full transcript