Total Maine town pressured to close after its solely clerk quits over denied trip

The only clerk in a small Maine town resigned after the board of selectmen denied her vacation request.

Christen Bouchard was the town clerk in Passadumkeag, Maine, since 2020. She requested a two-week trip a few month and a half in the past. Her plea was denied by the board of selectmen. They claimed that nobody was available to step in for her.

She left on April 7. The town has had nobody to register automobiles, keep crucial data, or talk with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The place of town clerk isn’t the only essential opening in Passadumkeag. The town of 356 folks also lacks a code enforcement officer, an assessor, an animal management officer, and a school administration official, in keeping with The Bangor Day by day News.

The town workplace shut all the way down to in-person visitors until additional notice, in accordance with a statement despatched out on April 19.

“The Treasurer can be in a couple of days a week to simply accept funds on issues such as taxes,” the statement read. “Please name the workplace before heading out to do any business right here as there aren't any designated hours of operation now.”

Treasurer Barbara Boyer has apparently been coming into the workplace to collect tax payments. Still, she is reportedly unable to register autos, do building inspections, conduct animal welfare checks, or undertake many of the different tasks that Ms. Bouchard was chargeable for.

It’s unclear when the town will be capable to fill the vacant positions and reopen for business. In March, city residents rejected a budget article meant to fund town operations after city officials didn't adequately explain the reasoning for a proposed salary increase. The finances article also didn't embrace funding for a code enforcement officer, a necessity underneath Maine regulation.

Town officials said that they are finding it troublesome to fill the open posts on account of monetary uncertainties. It's also because of the city’s small population, and the municipal roles being solely part-time. Ms Bouchard was solely contracted to work 16 hours each week — though she stated she often labored extra — and was paid simply $13,500 per year.

“We have now been left with a large number from years of neglect and are doing as a lot as we can to get our town again so as,” first selectman Brad McKechnie mentioned.

“I do imagine in time with the workforce we have, we will get Passadumkeag back in order and searching good, but it will take a bit and is going to be a challenge for certain.”

For the time being, the folks of Passadumkeag are counting on selectmen and other municipalities to carry out basic governmental duties. It includes getting registering their vehicles within the nearby municipality of Howland.