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County Commissioners deny non-profit back pay

3 mins read

FARMINGTON – County Commissioners approved a $7 million budget Tuesday morning, denying a request that was made from the Budget Advisory Committee to reinstate funding for several area non-profits.

Last week, members of the BAC approved sending a request to commissioners to pay three local non-profits a total of $58,001. The money was earmarked by the BAC and County Commissioners during the fiscal years of 2018, 2019 and 2020, but was never paid. The BAC requested that commissioners consider paying that balance from the undesignated funds account.

“How would you run a business if someone was telling you you had to spend money from your savings account?” Terry Brann of Wilton said. “I don’t understand their thinking at all other than trying to get something back in that we defeated before. We told them we were going to defund them.”

Clyde Barker of Strong moved to accept the request, however the motion was not seconded.

Commissioners Lance Harvell of Farmington moved to not honor the request and Brann seconded. The motion passed 2-1 with Barker voting against.

Issues with a pay structure for county employees was brought to the table by Register of Deeds Susan Black. She reported that she is currently making .29 cents more than a new hire, but has been in her position for 31 years.

Deputy Director of Emergency Management Agency Amanda Simoneau who was hired in 2012 took a pay cut of $4,000 this year according to reports.

After some discussion it was agreed on that the pay scale has not been closely examined since 2018 and needs immediate attention. However, Brann suggested approving the budget as written for the time being due to the significant changes that would need to be made at this point to update pay rates. Pay rates could be updated during the 2021-22 fiscal year, he said.

Barker disagreed, saying that he has seen similar situations play out before with no resolution.

A discussion that began last week was continued on Tuesday regarding a cost of living pay increase for non-union employees. Harvell said he is sure that non-union employees can be paid a stipend using Covid-19 relief funds. Harvell and Brann both agreed to lower the three percent raise to two, passing the motion, with Barker voting against.

Harvell stated that he will soon propose hiring a specialist on Covid-19 funding and how to make the most of what is available.

“I think there are a lot of opportunities for someone who knows how to look at and work it,” he said.

The Budget Advisory Committee will meet on Wednesday at 5:30 p.m. to discuss the changes. Six of the nine members will need to approve the budget in order for it to move forward.

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