Complete Maine town pressured to close after its only clerk quits over denied vacation

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

Christen Bouchard was the city clerk in Passadumkeag, Maine, since 2020. She requested a two-week vacation a few month and a half in the past. Her plea was denied by the board of selectmen. They claimed that no one was accessible to step in for her.

She left on April 7. The city has had nobody to register autos, keep essential records, or communicate with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The position of town clerk isn’t the one important opening in Passadumkeag. The city of 356 individuals additionally lacks a code enforcement officer, an assessor, an animal control officer, and a school administration official, in line with The Bangor Daily Information.

The town workplace shut right down to in-person guests till additional notice, in accordance with an announcement sent out on April 19.

“The Treasurer will probably be in a few days a week to just accept payments on things corresponding to taxes,” the assertion read. “Please name the workplace before heading out to do any enterprise 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 funds. Still, she is reportedly unable to register automobiles, do constructing inspections, conduct animal welfare checks, or undertake many of the different duties that Ms. Bouchard was accountable for.

It’s unclear when the city will be capable of fill the vacant positions and reopen for business. In March, city residents rejected a budget article meant to fund town operations after town officials failed to adequately clarify the reasoning for a proposed salary increase. The budget article additionally didn't include funding for a code enforcement officer, a necessity below Maine law.

City officers said that they are discovering it troublesome to fill the open posts on account of financial uncertainties. It is usually because of the city’s small population, and the municipal roles being only part-time. Ms Bouchard was solely contracted to work 16 hours every week — though she stated she usually labored extra — and was paid just $13,500 per 12 months.

“We've been left with a large number from years of neglect and are doing as much as we can to get our town again so as,” first selectman Brad McKechnie said.

“I do consider in time with the workforce we have now, we'll get Passadumkeag back so as and looking good, but it should take a bit and goes to be a challenge for certain.”

For the time being, the individuals of Passadumkeag are relying on selectmen and other municipalities to perform elementary governmental tasks. It contains getting registering their automobiles within the nearby municipality of Howland.