The three
adjoining towns of Pembroke, Perry and Charlotte are
discussing a significant shift toward
municipal
cooperation where they would jointly share
the cost and services of Town Clerk, Town Treasurer
and Tax Collector. The towns are using a Maine
Municipal Bond Bank Credit Quality Improvement Grant
of $75,000 to bring the concept into reality.
A primary goal of the project and the MMBB grant
funds is to explore opportunities to improve service
delivery based on existing and positive
relationships among the 3 towns.
Grant funds
are being used to:
-
Develop town web sites with on-line access to
town information.
-
Educate
citizens on the costs and benefits of this
change in service.
-
Digitize
parcel maps and link them to assessment
information on-line.
-
Develop
job descriptions for joint professional staff.
-
Find
suitable office space.
-
Purchase
office equipment and computers.
-
Hire
professional staff for the first year of
operations.
Several
public meetings and media articles are
providing information to voters in the 3 towns.
A
presentation of the reasons for the
cooperative effort was provided to each of the
three towns in January, 2008. A
DRAFT summary of the costs of the
initiative was provided at the January public
meetings. With additional input and research a
FINAL summary of the costs has been
made available prior to the March Town meetings.
After several
weather related postponements, the next meeting
for all 3 towns together is scheduled for
February 27 from 7-9PM at the Pembroke
Elementary School. The proposed
inter-local agreement
among the three towns will be discussed at that
time as well as an opportunity for the public to
ask questions. The presentation for the Feb 27th
meeting will be posted on this site as well.
Voters in all
three towns will be deciding at their March,
2008 Town Meetings on
warrant articles
to allow this cooperative arrangement. The
warrants in all 3 towns will include the
following 4 linked decisions:
1.
Whether to
change the positions of Town Clerk, Town
Treasurer and Tax Collector from elected to
appointed positions.
2.
Authorizing a
joint committee of the Selectmen of the three
towns to hire professional staff to serve all 3
towns with 3 full time positions of
Administrative Assistant, Clerk/Tax Collector,
and Treasurer.
3.
Approving an
inter-local agreement spelling out the decision
making authority of the three towns and their
joint responsibilities in sharing staff and a
municipal facility.
4.
Approving the
expenditure of funds to hire the staff and to
rent, construct, or to purchase and renovate a
building to serve as a joint municipal facility.
All residents of
Pembroke, Perry and Charlotte are encouraged to
attend the February 27th meeting
and/or to download the information provided here
to make an informed decision on the issues.
