County officials talk about 1% tax at convention

CARIBOU — The need for county budget autonomy, a 1 percent county sales tax and a state takeover of county jails were topics examined during panel discussions at the 1990 annual convention of Maine counties held over the weekend.

Attending the convention sponsored by the Maine County Commissioners Association were more than 200 county commissioners, sheriffs, registrars of deed and probate, and county clerks from Maine counties.

The host, for the “first time in more than 20 years,” was the Aroostook County Commissioners, according to Roland D. Martin, Aroostook county administrator.

Speakers at the convention Friday evening were U.S. Rep. Joseph E. Brennan, Democratic candidate for governor, and House Speaker John L. Martin, D-Eagle Lake. Addressing the convention Saturday was state Sen. Donald Collins, R-District 2.

Martin said county governments were dying organizations. He encouraged officials to change the ways they were doing things to survive.

“If county officials don’t do things to change, others will. Basically, the public is not satisfied,” said Martin.

Brennan talked about the importance of county involvement in state government, reviewing the issue of county revenues and overburdened payers of property taxes.

“The financial management of state government during economic downturns is extremely important,” said Collins. “Expenditures have to be cut or taxes increased, or a combination of both, and the present administration has given us a balanced budget without increasing either the sales tax or the income tax, which are the primary sources of state revenue.”

Collins encouraged the support of a $20,250,000 correctional facility bond, saying that if Maine doesn’t do something about its overcrowded prisons, “the federal government will do it for us and serve us the bill.”

In a panel discussion on county budget autonomy, officials reviewed the process to establish Aroostook’s county charter, giving final authority for adoption of the budget to the budget committee and commissioners in 1992. Methods being considered by other counties and the need to keep final votes on budgets with the county government were discussed.

Reviewed in a panel discussion was the need for a regional-, local-, or county-levied 1 percent sales tax. Discussed was an act presented last spring for consideration by the Legislature to authorize a regional tax. Panelists encouraged officials not to look toward the federal or state governments for additional revenues to relieve local tax burdens.

Panelist Gary Wood, attorney with the Maine Municipal Association, recommended that county officials work to introduce a 1 percent “county option tax” before the state introduces a 1 percent increase in state sales taxes.

Problems with raising revenues to deal with the costs of funding county jails were discussed. Panelists reviewed efforts made last year by Martin to pass a bill to transfer the jail responsibility from county government to the state.

The site for the 1991 convention will be York County.