FARMINGTON — On Tuesday, the Franklin County Commissioners discussed a potential change in banking for the American Rescue Plan Act funds received from the federal government.
Interest earned on the ARPA funds is available for the county to use, so the commissioners have previously expressed a desire to have the funds in a high-earning interest account.
Per Commissioner Terry Brann’s request, Beckie Bowering and Hannah Boivin from Franklin Savings Bank attended the meeting with a proposal for opening an account for the ARPA funds. The bank offered a 0.6 annual percentage yield with a daily sweep checking account for the county. This offer would be valid for 30 days. Interest rates would not be fixed, and would be revisited quarterly. The balance would be fully insured, up to $17 million. ARPA funds for Franklin County are in the area of $5.6 million.
Bowering said that if the county opted to go that route, she would bring the necessary paperwork to the county offices for the treasurer to sign, and do anything else she could to facilitate the process.
County Treasurer Pam Prodan had previously stated her concerns about changing bank accounts, both because her office is short staffed and has enough work to do, and because of the complexity introduced by banking the same funds in two different places.
Prodan was not aware that the proposal was on the table for the meeting.
Because ARPA funds have expended from the current bank account, Prodan was concerned about the record keeping process. She was unsure how the reporting process to the state and federal government would work if ARPA funds were spent out of two different banks. She needed time to evaluate and determine if the move would be cost effective internally. Finally, she was not prepared to make a decision without knowing how it would impact her department and staff.
Currently, the ARPA funds earn 0.15 percent interest.
The commissioners proposed moving the funds to Franklin Savings Bank. Prodan stated that by statute, she is responsible for the operations of the treasurer’s department, and that it was not in the commissioners’ purview to take action on the issue.
Deputy County Clerk Vickie Braley, who previously served as Deputy Treasurer among other roles, said that typically they would ‘shop around’ to other banks to determine the best interest rates.
Commissioner Brann said that under statute, the commissioners had the authority to take action. He made a motion to move the ARPA funds to the bank with the highest interest rates.
Commissioner Lance Harvell said he thought Prodan was correct. He requested that the treasurer’s department gather information on the best rates, and bring back their findings within the 30-day window for the current proposal.
Commissioner Clyde Barker was absent due to illness.
Prodan agreed to look into the matter, ask other local banks for proposals, and bring a recommendation to the commissioners at the May 3 meeting, which falls within the 30 days. Braley and Diane Dunham, deputy treasurer and finance manager, would assist with the process.
In other business, the commissioners authorized Prodan to sign the letters of engagement for the auditors. The county has a 4-year contract with RHR Smith for auditing, but a letter of engagement needs to be signed each year.
The commissioners opened bids for a new vehicle for the Franklin County Emergency Management Agency, a Ford Explorer. After reviewing the three bids submitted, Director Tim Hardy recommended that the commissioners accept the bid from Quirk Auto in Augusta. With the trade-in value of the vehicle currently used by the agency, Quirk offered $19,944.80 for the new Explorer. The commissioners approved the bid.
Elizabeth Simoni with Maine Pretrial Services requested that the commissioners consider an increase in funding for Maine Pretrial Services in Franklin County. The increased rates were not provided when Franklin County Detention Center developed their budget. Maine Pretrial Services screens defendants carefully and, with approval from a judge, supervises their release into the community while they await trial. This helps the county by reducing the number of people housed in the detention center, reducing the staffing needs, food costs, and other factors. Defendants meet with staff from Maine Pretrial Services for regular check-ins, drug tests, and other conditions of release set by the judge.
Maine Pretrial Services requested a seven percent increase this year, roughly $3,000. The initial request in the budget from the detention center is $78,040, and Simoni requested that they increase it to $81,268. No action was taken.
The county budget process will be starting this month with both the commissioners and the budget committee working on budgets.
