Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Budget topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Rockport appoints Doug Cole to Knox County budget committee amid concerns about a possible 20% county budget increase
Summary
Doug Cole volunteered and was appointed as Rockport's Knox County Budget Committee representative; he said he will scrutinize a draft county budget that local reporting suggests could rise by about 20% and pushed for regionalization discussion to control costs.
At the Oct. 14 meeting the Rockport Select Board appointed Doug Cole as the town's representative to the Knox County Budget Committee after a resignation from the post.
Cole, who also serves on Rockport's town budget committee, told the board he was concerned by a recent local report that a draft county budget could be up by more than 20 percent and said he intended to represent Rockport's interests at county discussions: "I'm a big proponent of regionalization," Cole said, arguing that sharing services could reduce long-term costs for towns. He signaled he would look for places to find efficiencies and asked the board for direction on how often to report back.
Board members asked Cole to provide updates at upcoming select board meetings; Cole agreed to return after the county budget committee meets. The board unanimously approved his appointment and thanked him for volunteering.
During the discussion staff and members clarified that while the county's draft number was referenced in press coverage, the county budget timetable is different (county operates on a calendar year) and any final county actions would flow into municipal budgeting processes, where Rockport voters will ultimately see tax impacts on the June ballot.
