An Act to Amend the Waldo County Budget Adoption Process and
Maine Legislature, Session 132, LD 1767
Committee: State and Local Government
Sponsors: CURRY
Amends: 30-A MRSA §853, 30-A MRSA §855

Legislative Document
No. 1767
S.P. 685
In Senate, April 23, 2025
An Act to Amend the Waldo County Budget Adoption Process and 
Allow Residents Who Are Not Municipal Officers to Serve on the 
Waldo County Budget Committee
Reference to the Committee on State and Local Government suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator CURRY of Waldo.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Maine as follows:
Sec. 1.  30-A MRSA §853, sub-§1, ¶A, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 
and Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is 
further amended to read:
A.  The county commissioners shall notify all municipal officers in the county to caucus 
by county commissioner districts at a specified date, time and place for the purpose of 
nominating at least one municipal officer from each district as a candidate for the 
county budget committee; except that in 1987, at least 3 municipal officers shall must 
be nominated from each district.  If no municipal officer in a county commissioner 
district is willing to be nominated as a candidate for the county budget committee, any 
resident of the county commissioner district who is of voting age may be nominated in 
place of the municipal officer as long as the other 2 county budget committee members 
in the county commissioner district are municipal officers.  A county commissioner 
shall serve as nonvoting moderator for his that county commissioner's district's caucus.  
Nominations shall must be received from the floor.  The nominee receiving the most 
votes shall must be approved.  Any other nominees who receive a majority vote of 
those present shall must also be approved.  The names of those duly approved shall 
must be recorded and forwarded to the county commissioners to be placed on a written 
ballot.
Sec. 2.  30-A MRSA §853, sub-§3, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and 
Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is further 
amended to read:
3.  Term of office.  The term of office shall be is 3 years, provided that a budget 
committee member remains a municipal officer in the municipal officer's municipality, 
except that of those elected in 1987, one from each district shall be elected for a term of 3 
years; one from each district shall be elected for a term of 2 years; and one from each 
district shall be elected for a term of one year.
Sec. 3.  30-A MRSA §853, sub-§4, as amended by PL 2017, c. 78, §1, is further 
amended to read:
4.  Vacancies.  A vacancy occurring on the budget committee must be filled by the 
committee for the balance of the unexpired term.  The person appointed to fill the vacant 
office must be a municipal officer resident of voting age from the same municipality as the 
person vacating the office.  If the municipality of the person vacating the office declines to 
send a new member, the committee may solicit another municipality in the same district as 
the municipality of the vacating member that does not have a member sitting on the 
committee to send a municipal officer municipal resident of voting age to fill the vacancy.
Sec. 4.  30-A MRSA §855, sub-§4, as enacted by PL 1987, c. 737, Pt. A, §2 and 
Pt. C, §106 and amended by PL 1989, c. 6; c. 9, §2; and c. 104, Pt. C, §§8 and 10, is 
repealed.
Sec. 5.  30-A MRSA §855, sub-§4-A is enacted to read:
4-A.  Adoption of budget.  After the public hearing is completed, the budget 
committee shall adopt a final budget and transmit that budget to the county commissioners.  
The county commissioners may not increase, decrease, alter or revise the budget as adopted 
by the budget committee except by unanimous vote of the county commissioners.  If the 
adopted budget is changed by the county commissioners, the budget committee may reject 
that change by a 2/3 vote of its membership.  Those actions are final and are not subject to 
further action by either the county commissioners or the budget committee.  The budget as 
adopted must be sent to the county commissioners, and the county tax authorized must be 
apportioned and collected in accordance with section 706.
SUMMARY
This bill amends the law governing the membership of the Waldo County Budget 
Committee.  The bill provides that if no municipal officer in a county commissioner district 
is willing to be nominated as a candidate for the county budget committee, any resident of 
the county commissioner district who is of voting age can be nominated in place of the 
municipal officer as long as the other 2 county budget committee members in the county 
commissioner district are municipal officers.  The bill also removes the requirement that a 
budget committee member serving in the capacity of a municipal officer must maintain the 
member's status as a municipal officer during the member's term of office.  The bill also 
removes the requirement that a person appointed to fill a vacancy be a municipal officer 
and permits any municipal resident of voting age who resides in the same municipality as 
the vacating member to fill the vacancy.
The bill also replaces the process for the adoption of the county budget by requiring 
that, after a public hearing is completed, the budget committee adopt a final budget and 
transmit that budget to the county commissioners.  The county commissioners may not 
increase, decrease, alter or revise the budget as adopted by the budget committee except by 
unanimous vote of the county commissioners.  The bill requires that if the adopted budget 
is changed by the county commissioners, the budget committee may reject that change by 
a 2/3 vote of its membership.  The bill requires that the budget as adopted must be sent to 
the county commissioners, and the county tax authorized must be apportioned and collected 
in accordance with current law.