SKOWHEGAN – The three-member panel of Somerset County commissioners was updated Wednesday morning on the status of its recently filed civil suit against the county’s insurance carrier.

The commissioners are suing the Maine County Commissioners Association’s insurance pool over its refusal to pay an annual pension to Michelle Baker, widow of a deputy killed in the line of duty. Deputy Charles Baker was killed a year ago when his cruiser crashed on Route 2 in Palmyra on the way to a call. Under state law, his widow is entitled to an annual pension of $13,038, or half of his pay at the time of his death.

There is no argument over whether Baker is entitled to the pension, but rather a difference of opinion about who is responsible for paying it.

The commissioners maintain that their insurance carrier should bear the cost, not county taxpayers. State law says the county commissioners “shall pay these pensions from county funds.” Baker has received her first year’s payment pending the outcome of the suit.

Written briefs seeking an opinion have been submitted to the court, County Attorney Warren Shay told the commissioners, and the judge will take the case under advisement, likely returning a decision by early next year.

In other business, the commissioners added $14,000 to a capital reserve road account in the 2001 budget because of cost overruns at a Moxie Gore road construction project.

County Clerk Robin Poland said the county’s road consultant called for extra culverts, ditching and shoulder work to prevent water damage. Paving material bids also came in much higher than predicted, said Poland, at $35 a ton, rather than the $28 a ton budgeted.

A public hearing on the proposed 2001 budget has been scheduled for Wednesday, Dec. 27, in the Superior Court room of the courthouse.

Opposition is expected in several areas of the budget, including the Rockwood Fire Department, the register of probate’s salary, and insurance benefits for county commissioners.

Poland said the RFD’s budget was received by the commissioners by e-mail on Dec. 6, after the public hearing had been advertised and budget deliberations completed. She said that several areas of the RFD budget had been left blank, with no amounts filled in, that they had requested $7.50 an hour per call for firefighters and $150,000 in a reserve account for a tanker truck. None of those requests were received in time to be part of the proposed budget, said Poland.

Poland said the commissioners also voted to move the time of their twice-monthly meetings from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m. with the first meeting of the new year scheduled for Jan. 3, 2001.