Voters in Washington County are being asked this fall to approve an $11 million bond to help the area fill a massive budgetary gap caused by years of financial mismanagement. This unhappy surprise is the result both of shoddy bookkeeping and a false sense of security brought on by COVID-era funding largesse.
Slow audits and inaccurate record keeping reportedly led to the County continually overestimating how much was in their reserves, leading them to underestimate just how much money was needed in taxes to cover their expenses.
After having already used up millions of dollars in federal COVID-19 funds and taking out millions of dollars in short-term loans, the County now needs to refinance its existing debt and get some more cash on hand in order to keep things operational.
Should voters choose to reject the multi-million dollar bond, Washington County officials have indicated that it would put the local government in a particularly difficult position, as funds could possibly run out by the end of the year.
“It won’t be pretty,” Commissioner Billy Howard, a Republican from Calais, said regarding the possibility of voters rejecting the bond, according to the Maine Monitor. “We’re gonna be in a real pickle.”
Renee Gray, Washington County’s manager, explained that officials carried surplus estimates into subsequent year’s budgets “without verifying that the funds were actually present,” according to the outlet.
Washington County Commissioner David Burns told Maine Public Radio that sometimes budget lines were overspent while simultaneously under-collecting taxes.
He went on to describe the situation as “devastating,” indicating that he is unsure how the County will move forward if the $11 million bond is rejected at the ballot box.
Without these additional funds, Burns does not see how the County will be able to continue funding police, probate court, and regional communication services.
“To go without those services, to me, is unthinkable,” he told the outlet. “But I don’t have the foresight at this point at least to see exactly how we’re going to get out of this. And that’s pretty frustrating.”
Washington County only completed its 2021 audit earlier this year, revealing that the books were severely unbalanced.
Because funds from the COVID-era American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) were placed into the County’s general fund, the dwindling balance went unnoticed for several years.
“Had it not been for the ARPA funds, the county would have recognized the cash flow shortage a lot sooner,” Gray said, according to the Maine Monitor.
Commissioner Chris Gardner, who was serving when the error was first discovered in 2024, has reportedly said that it arose due to a “lack of audits and auditors within the state,” not as the result of a “lack of trying.”
Others from Washington County have indicated that there is not necessarily any one person to blame for placing them in this position.
The County must now pay back a $7.6 million loan, cover about $2.6 million in back debt, and compensate for a $700,000 budget shortfall this year alone.
“I just want to say these will be extremely trying times,” said County Commissioner Billy Howard during a public meeting held over the summer. “This is a mess that we had no idea we were getting into.”
Reporting from the Machias Valley News Observer details the impassioned meeting that took place in late August, during which officials and members of the public discussed the situation as it currently stands, as well as how the County got to that point, and considered multiple paths forward to get them back on track.
In speaking with Maine Public, Commissioner Burns acknowledged that many Washington County residents are already struggling with high property tax bills and other burdensome expenses.
“Make good judgment about this proposed bond, which is something that — with the best information we have — we believe we need to keep the county services going, provide the services that people desire and need,” he said. “But on the other hand, do everything that we can in our power — and I think all three commissioners believe this — to hold down county property taxes as much as possible. We have to get out of this hole.”
Washington County residents may weigh in on the proposed bond by casting an absentee ballot or voting in person on election day, November 4th.
