Staff Writer
Aroostook County voters will be asked on Election Day whether they want to continue electing three county government positions or if the slots should be appointed by the Board of County Commissioners.
Approval of the referendum question to appoint the county treasurer and the two registers of deeds would eliminate the practice of filling the positions by popular election.
Election day is Tuesday, Nov. 6.
Douglas F. Beaulieu, Aroostook County’s administrator, said that the referendum was initiated by the commissioners as a way of modernizing the way the county does business.
“These jobs have become more complex with the advent of technology,’’ Beaulieu said.
For example, the register of deeds is run by a software system, which requires training.
“It’s imperative that candidates for this position in the future be computer literate and can manage an office and staff,’’ the administrator said.
If approved by Aroostook voters, county government would be able to advertise these positions and interview applicants for the job. Beaulieu would recommend a candidate to the County Commissioners who then make the final vote to hire.
Authority for placing the referendum on the ballot comes from the county charter, which was adopted almost 20 years ago. At the time, Aroostook County was the first county in the state to adopt its own charter.
However, there is some opposition to the proposal. A former county treasurer said Monday the tradition of electing the treasurer should be continued. James McBreairty of Washburn, who was treasurer for eight years in the late 1980s and early 1990s, said that if he’d been appointed, he wouldn’t have been able to point out needed changes or problems within county government.
Louise Caron has been elected as the register of deeds in the Fort Kent office since 1985, while Patricia Brown is starting her fifth year in the similar position in the Houlton office. The terms of both officials will expire in 2010.
Brown said that she believed all of the effected officials would lose their jobs if the referendum passes.
Efforts to reach Wilfred Bell, the current treasurer, for comment were not successful.
Beaulieu claimed that the changes will eliminate partisan politics in the way that the treasurer and registers are selected. In addition, the changes can generate some savings of possibly $15,000 to $20,000 out of the county’s $8 million total budget, Beaulieu said.
Remaining departments of county government, such as the register of probate, the probate judge and the sheriff’s position, will continue to be popularly elected. Any changes to that system would require state constitutional or legislative changes, Beaulieu said.
