Complete Maine city forced to close after its only clerk quits over denied vacation

The single clerk in a small Maine city resigned after the board of selectmen denied her trip request.

Christen Bouchard was the city clerk in Passadumkeag, Maine, since 2020. She requested a two-week trip 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 city has had nobody to register vehicles, keep crucial records, or communicate with the state Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The place of town clerk isn’t the one necessary opening in Passadumkeag. The town of 356 individuals also lacks a code enforcement officer, an assessor, an animal control officer, and a college administration official, according to The Bangor Each day Information.

The town workplace shut all the way down to in-person guests till additional notice, based on an announcement despatched out on April 19.

“The Treasurer will probably be in a couple of days a week to simply accept funds on issues corresponding to taxes,” the statement read. “Please call the office earlier than heading out to do any business right here as there are no designated hours of operation now.”

Treasurer Barbara Boyer has apparently been coming into the workplace to gather tax payments. Still, she is reportedly unable to register vehicles, do building inspections, conduct animal welfare checks, or undertake lots of the other tasks that Ms. Bouchard was chargeable for.

It’s unclear when the town will be capable of fill the vacant positions and reopen for business. In March, town residents rejected a price range article meant to fund town operations after city officials didn't adequately clarify the reasoning for a proposed salary enhance. The price range article also didn't embody funding for a code enforcement officer, a necessity underneath Maine regulation.

City officers mentioned that they're discovering it troublesome to fill the open posts as a result of monetary uncertainties. It is usually because of the town’s small population, and the municipal roles being solely part-time. Ms Bouchard was solely contracted to work 16 hours each week — though she mentioned she usually labored more — and was paid just $13,500 per yr.

“Now we have been left with a multitude from years of neglect and are doing as much as we can to get our town back in order,” first selectman Brad McKechnie stated.

“I do believe in time with the staff now we have, we will get Passadumkeag again in order and looking good, but it would take a bit and is going to be a challenge for positive.”

In the meanwhile, the folks of Passadumkeag are relying on selectmen and other municipalities to perform fundamental governmental obligations. It consists of getting registering their vehicles in the nearby municipality of Howland.