Pembroke defeats 3-town office plan

PEMBROKE – In the first of three votes, residents handily defeated a plan to merge their administrative office with the neighboring towns of Perry and Charlotte.

Although it took selectmen from the three towns nearly two years to hammer out an interlocal agreement for a central office, it took voters a little more than 30 minutes Monday night to reject the proposal, 48-30, during a special town meeting.

The agreement called for the consolidation of administrative services in the three towns under one roof. During meetings held earlier this year, the selectmen made it clear the new office would cost the towns more, but they also argued that a central administrative office would be more efficient. Under the plan the town clerk, treasurer and tax collector would be housed at a central office. The three towns would pick up the cost. An administrative assistant would have oversight of the office.

Perry and Pembroke are expected to vote on the agreement Monday. All three towns have to approve the interlocal agreement for it to take effect.

Town officials from Perry and Pembroke said after the meeting that if the measure passes in Perry and Charlotte next week, Pembroke voters would be asked to look at it again.

Pembroke Fire Chief Robert Barr Jr. spoke against the measure in front of a packed house at the Pembroke Elementary School.

Barr said there were too many uncertainties. He said the town still did not know how much money the state planned to cut from the town’s education budget. In addition, he said, a nearly 10 percent increase in administrative costs for the town did not make sense.

Judy East, executive director of the Washington County Council of Governments, told voters that she could not recall what the projected increase would be for the town, but said she did not remember it being as high as Barr had suggested.

On Tuesday, East said that if Pembroke voters had approved the measure it would have represented a 4.9 percent increase over last year’s taxes, not the nearly 10 percent Barr suggested.

The cost to Perry and Charlotte would be 8 and 5.7 percent respectively, she said. But things could be different next year. “The whole formula changes, because of changes in valuation, the mill rate and other factors in the budget,” she said.

Pembroke Town Clerk Janice Scanlon urged passage of the agreement Monday night. Presently, Pembroke does not have a town office and when residents need to do town business, they go to her home.

“One of the reasons I am in favor of this is the liability on my house and my house is not handicapped accessible,” she said.

She said she also feared for the town records stored at her house in the event of a fire.

Scanlon said that under the present system, there was a revolving door at her house as residents showed up at all hours to register a car or pay for a license. She said if the agreement did not pass, she would restrict office hours at her house. “I don’t get to see my family; I’m stuck at home 24-7,” she said.

Last year, the Council of Governments helped the towns get a $75,000 Municipal Bond Bank Credit Quality Improvement Grant. Although some of the money went to WCCG to facilitate the project, the bulk of it was earmarked to cover the cost of new equipment and salary for the new administrative assistant the first year.

Perry Selectman David Turner, who attended the Pembroke meeting, said after the vote that he believed it was still a good deal for the three towns and said he hoped Perry and Charlotte would approve the agreement next week so the matter could be brought before the town of Pembroke again.

Pembroke Selectman Milan Jamieson said after the meeting he too was disappointed by the vote.

“I would like to see us move forward,” he said. He said he also supported the plan to revisit the issue if Perry and Charlotte approved it.

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