Complete Maine city compelled to close after its solely clerk quits over denied vacation

The single 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 trip a couple of month and a half ago. Her plea was denied by the board of selectmen. They claimed that no one was accessible to step in for her.

She left on April 7. The town has had no one to register vehicles, hold crucial data, or talk with the state Division of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife.

The place of town clerk isn’t the one essential 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, in line with The Bangor Daily Information.

The city office shut all the way down to in-person visitors till additional discover, according to an announcement sent out on April 19.

“The Treasurer might be in a few days every week to accept funds on things resembling taxes,” the statement learn. “Please name the workplace earlier than heading out to do any enterprise here as there are no designated hours of operation now.”

Treasurer Barbara Boyer has apparently been coming into the office to gather tax payments. Nonetheless, she is reportedly unable to register automobiles, do constructing inspections, conduct animal welfare checks, or undertake most of the different tasks that Ms. Bouchard was accountable for.

It’s unclear when the city will have the ability to fill the vacant positions and reopen for enterprise. In March, town residents rejected a funds article meant to fund town operations after city officials didn't adequately explain the reasoning for a proposed wage increase. The budget article additionally didn't embody funding for a code enforcement officer, a necessity beneath Maine regulation.

City officials stated that they're finding it difficult to fill the open posts on account of monetary uncertainties. Additionally it is due to the town’s small inhabitants, and the municipal roles being solely part-time. Ms Bouchard was solely contracted to work 16 hours every week — though she stated she usually labored extra — and was paid simply $13,500 per year.

“We now have been left with a large number from years of neglect and are doing as much as we can to get our town back in order,” first selectman Brad McKechnie said.

“I do consider in time with the team now we have, we are going to get Passadumkeag back in order and searching good, however it should take a bit and is going to be a problem for sure.”

In the interim, the folks of Passadumkeag are relying on selectmen and different municipalities to carry out elementary governmental obligations. It contains getting registering their automobiles within the nearby municipality of Howland.