Staff Writer
Aroostook County voters will be asked on Election Day whether they want to continue electing three county government positions or if the slots should be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners. Approval of the referendum question to appoint the county treasurer and the two registers of deeds would eliminate the practice of filling the positions by popular election.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Douglas F. Beaulieu, Aroostook County’s administrator, said that the referendum was initiated by the commissioners as a way of modernizing the way the county does business.
“These jobs have become more complex with the advent of technology,’’ Beaulieu said.
For example, the register of deeds is run by a software system, which requires training.
“It’s imperative that candidates for this position in the future be computer literate and can manage an office and staff,’’ the administrator said.
If approved by Aroostook voters, county government would be able to advertise these positions and interview applicants for the job. Beaulieu would recommend a candidate to the County Commissioners who then make the final vote to hire.
“What we’re trying to do is recruit and hire the best candidates,’’ said Beaulieu.
Authority for placing the referendum on the ballot comes from the county charter, which was adopted almost 20 years ago. At the time, Aroostook County was the first county in the state to adopt its own charter.
However, there is some opposition to the proposal. A former county treasurer said Monday the tradition of electing the treasurer should be continued. James McBreairty of Washburn, who was treasurer for eight years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said that if he’d been appointed, he wouldn’t have been able to point out needed changes or problems within county government.
“If I’d been appointed back then, I’d been fired,’’ said McBreairty, who also served in the state legislature.
Louise Caron has been elected as the register of deeds in the Fort Kent office since 1985, while Patricia Brown is starting her fifth year in the similar position in the Houlton office. The terms of both officials will expire in 2010.
“Whatever happens, happens,” said Caron. “They’ve (county commissioners) got the county charter and they can do it. Hopefully, we can continue with our jobs.”
Brown said that she believed all of the effected officials would lose their jobs if the referendum passes.
“If you’re appointed, your (job) is not secure. I don’t believe the county should have all the control,” Brown said.
Efforts to reach Wilfred Bell, the current treasurer, for comment were not successful.
In a recent letter to the editor, the Waldo County county treasurer, David Parkman of Palermo, advised against changing the current practice.
“I know how important it is that these two county offices should be kept independent from pressure and influence of county commissioners,’’ wrote Parkman in the Oct. 24 issue of the “Aroostook Republican and News.” “… we should report to the commissioner exactly what we think on any subject, not what we think they want to hear.”
A public hearing on the proposal to appoint the treasurer and two registers of deeds was held this summer. However, no one attended the session, Beaulieu said.
The county treasurer’s position is about 15 to 17 hours per week, while the register of deeds positions are full time, Beaulieu said. The terms of the three positions expire in 2010. Implementation of the change, if approved, could not occur until that time.
Beaulieu claimed that the changes will eliminate partisan politics in the way that the treasurer and registers are selected. In addition, the changes can generate some savings of possibly $15,000 to $20,000 out of the county’s $8 million total budget, Beaulieu said.
Remaining departments of county government, such as the register of probate, the probate judge and the sheriff’s position, will continue to be popularly elected. Any changes to that system would require state constitutional or legislative changes, Beaulieu said.
