Entire Maine town pressured to close after its only 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 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 obtainable to step in for her.

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

The place of town clerk isn’t the one vital opening in Passadumkeag. The town of 356 individuals also lacks a code enforcement officer, an assessor, an animal management officer, and a school administration official, in response to The Bangor Daily Information.

The city office shut down to in-person visitors till additional discover, in keeping with an announcement sent out on April 19.

“The Treasurer can be in a few days a week to accept payments on things equivalent to taxes,” the assertion read. “Please name the office before heading out to do any enterprise right here as there are not 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 building inspections, conduct animal welfare checks, or undertake many of the different tasks that Ms. Bouchard was responsible for.

It’s unclear when the town will have the ability to fill the vacant positions and reopen for enterprise. In March, town residents rejected a finances article meant to fund town operations after city officers did not adequately clarify the reasoning for a proposed wage increase. The finances article additionally did not embody funding for a code enforcement officer, a necessity below Maine law.

City officers mentioned that they're discovering it troublesome to fill the open posts as a result of financial uncertainties. It is also due to the city’s small inhabitants, and the municipal roles being solely part-time. Ms Bouchard was only contracted to work 16 hours each week — though she stated she usually worked more — and was paid just $13,500 per 12 months.

“We've been left with a multitude from years of neglect and are doing as much as we are able to to get our city again so as,” first selectman Brad McKechnie stated.

“I do imagine in time with the group we have now, we'll get Passadumkeag back so as and searching good, but it would take a bit and goes to be a problem for positive.”

In the meanwhile, the individuals of Passadumkeag are relying on selectmen and other municipalities to carry out basic governmental responsibilities. It contains getting registering their vehicles in the nearby municipality of Howland.