WOODLAND, Maine – Former employees might have used a road repair fund to illegally pay for election workers, according to Select Board members.
Since last summer, board members have worked with office staff to reconcile the town’s books, which they said had not been balanced since January 2023.
Many of those issues have been resolved through working with local accountants, but the board is still coming across discrepancies, said board chairperson Kathy Ouellette at a public meeting last week.
Around three weeks ago, Ouellette and Bridget Coats, tax collector and treasurer, went to the bank to open a new checking account after learning that a scammer had attempted to hack into the town’s former account.
While there, the two discovered that approximately $7,000 to $8,000 in funds designated to pay back a loan from Maine Municipal Bond Bank for road surfacing and reconstruction had been used to pay part-time election clerks in 2023. State statute allows municipalities to use Bond Bank funds only for designated projects.
In 2022, residents approved borrowing $825,000 from the Bond Bank over 10 years, with an interest rate of 2.5 percent, and paying back the bank $20,000 per year.
Ouellette and board members did not specify which employees were working in the town office when they allegedly used the Bond Bank for election expenses.
As the town starts its 2023 audit, more information might come to light, Ouellette said.
“We’ve been going over the books, making sure everything is going in the correct spots, and getting things up to speed,” Ouellette said.
In other business, the board will soon vote on a local company to work on paving projects in town.
A workshop originally scheduled for Sept. 6 was canceled when the board did not receive enough bids from the companies they wanted to consider for the paving, said board chairperson Matt Cole.
Once they receive all bids, a special town meeting will be scheduled so residents can vote on using town expenses for that project.
The board also voted unanimously to join five other towns in giving animal control officer David Rhinebolt a $470 stipend to purchase a new iPad for $199; an iPad case for $125; and new body camera for $146.
Rhinebolt is the officer for Woodland, Perham, Washburn, Wade and New Sweden. All towns will contribute $78.38 towards the $470 stipend, Cole said.
The next Woodland Select Board meeting is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 15 at 5:30 p.m. in the town garage.
