Franklin County advisory committee approves most department budgets, trims lines; EMA proposals fail to gain support

The Franklin County Budget Advisory Committee met May 7, 2025, in Farmington and approved the majority of departmental FY2026 budget requests while adopting targeted reductions to several lines and personnel items. Chair Tiffany Maiuri led the committee through a department-by-department vote after opening the meeting with a recommendation to discuss overall budget approach before tackling individual departments.

Committee members debated pay structure changes, step and grade increases and the proposed cost-of-living adjustment (COLA). Budget committee member Michael Wells said payroll and benefits make up most of the county budget and raised concerns about restructuring methodology and employee turnover. Several members, including Dean Collins and Janet White, questioned the size of step and grade increases and whether Franklin County’s economy can support the proposed salaries. Richard Morton proposed reducing the COLA to 2.5% and eliminating a part-time post shared between the Treasurer’s and Commissioner’s offices as cost-saving measures.

The meeting’s most extended debate centered on the Emergency Management Agency (EMA) FY2026 budget. The committee considered an initial motion to approve $310,740 that failed. A separate proposal to increase the FY2025 budget by 4% (to $268,137) and a later amendment to limit a 4% increase to personnel lines also failed. Ultimately, the committee adopted unanimous amendments that trimmed health insurance by $15,000, reduced the deputy department head line by $8,000 and made modest payroll tax and retirement reductions, producing a revised EMA figure agreed by amendment votes.

Other department-level outcomes included unanimous approval of the District Attorney’s $388,665 budget and small, unanimous approvals for the Superior Court ($3,000), Registry of Deeds ($250,961) and Registry of Probate ($329,782). The committee approved the Communications budget at $1,396,668 and accepted an amended Sheriff’s Office figure of $3,064,143 (the Commissioners’ version), following an initial department-head request of $3,139,143.

The Commissioner’s Office budget was reduced in committee action: a motion to fund $400,000 — accomplished by not funding a part-time secretary, reducing the chair stipend, cutting payroll taxes, and removing a 35% health-insurance stipend for commissioners — passed by a 9–2 vote. The Treasurer’s proposed budget was reduced from a $279,023 motion that failed to a passed $259,165 number after removing part-time staff funding and cutting the business services line from $40,000 to $30,000.

The County-wide budget passed with an amendment returning Soil and Water Conservation funding to $30,000 (a $7,500 reduction) and the Jail budget was approved at $3,536,649. The committee unanimously accepted and amended the April 30, 2025 minutes to indicate Chair Tiffany Maiuri will pay $75.00 rather than the minutes’ prior wording. The committee scheduled a public hearing on the budget for 4:30 p.m. on May 21, 2025, at 120 County Way in Farmington and adjourned at 6:45 p.m.

Votes at a glance (department : outcome, key change): EMA: multiple motions and amendments; final amendments reduced health insurance, deputy head, payroll tax and retirement lines (sequence of motions and failed amendments recorded in committee minutes). District Attorney: approved $388,665 (11–0). Superior Court: approved $3,000 (11–0). Commissioner’s Office: approved $400,000 with cuts (9–2). Treasurer’s Office: approved $259,165 after removing part-time position and reducing business services to $30,000 (9–2). Technical Services: approved $504,717 with a $700 professional-services reduction (vote recorded 7–4). Facilities: approved $439,879 (10–1). Registry of Deeds: approved $250,961 (11–0). Registry of Probate: approved $329,782 (11–0). Sheriff’s Office: approved $3,064,143 (amended from $3,139,143) (11–0). Communications: approved $1,396,668 (11–0). County-wide: approved $686,645 after Soil & Water Conservation cut (8–3). Jail: approved $3,536,649 (10–1).

The committee discussed the methodology for step and grade changes and several members requested clearer supporting documentation for pay-structure adjustments and for how jail and unorganized territories influence total county expenditures. The committee set the next step of public engagement with the May 21 hearing; no final board-level adoption was recorded in this meeting.