Piscataquis County whittles away nonprofits’ grant requests

Piscataquis County commissioners decided Tuesday to cut $20,000 from the county’s largest funded nonprofit and override some of the budget committee’s decisions regarding two county departments.

Among the nonprofits that seek grants from the county each year, the Piscataquis County Economic Development Council typically gets the largest one. Last year, it received $100,000 instead of $115,000 because commissioners slashed 10 percent of grants for all nonprofits and put a $100,000 cap on grants. 

This time around, the nonprofit requested $100,000 as part of the 2024-25 county budget, but commissioners approved only $80,000 during a meeting Tuesday.

“Not many of the grant [requestees] got more than they got last year,” County Manager Michael Williams said. “That’s pretty good, though they might not have gotten what they asked for.” 

Commissioners approved $27,534 for UMaine Cooperative Extension, which has an office in Dover-Foxcroft. But the amount is only enough for the extension to be open three days a week, according to figures provided by Beth McEvoy, president of the executive committee.

The group requested $31,708, which would have allowed it to keep the office open 3.5 days a week, her figures show. In 2023, the cooperative extension office was open 3.5 days a week with $24,750 from the county, plus $4,000 in residual savings and a $4,000 one-time credit from the UMaine system.

“We appreciate the action by commissioners,” McEvoy said Tuesday evening, noting the office anticipated a significant budget cut. “We will only have to reduce our hours by a half-day.”

The decision will affect the cooperative extension’s administrative assistant, but she is aware of and OK with the change, McEvoy said.

In most cases, nonprofits will receive less than the grants they requested. The Piscataquis Chamber of Commerce requested $7,500 and will get $4,500, which is what it got during last year’s budget process, commissioners said. Destination Moosehead Lake requested $4,500 but will get $3,750.

Moosehead Lake Economic Development Corp., which was not funded last year, will get $3,750.

Grants for other groups include $13,500 for Piscataquis Soil & Water Conservation District, $4,715 for Eastern Area Agency on Aging, $1,800 for Piscataquis Regional Food Center, $2,200 for Pine Tree Hospice and $1,800 for the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter. 

The budget advisory committee, which worked from Oct. 5 to Nov. 2 to build a proposal, decided on some of those grants. It left others up to commissioners, who have the power to override the committee’s decisions. 

Commissioners didn’t explain their reasoning for the grants, and decisions were made during a fairly quick meeting Tuesday. Nonprofits that did not submit requests will not get funding, even if they have in the past, they said.

During Tuesday’s meeting, commissioners also replenished funds that the budget committee had proposed to slash from the district attorney’s office and maintenance department. It adds roughly $7,400 back to county operations, Williams said.

The district attorney’s office requested $6,000 for mileage. The budget committee cut it to $3,500, but the department argued that $5,700 was the lowest it could go, Chairperson Andrew Torbett said. Commissioners approved $5,700, among other increases to the budget committee’s figures.

Among the maintenance department’s requests was a $1,000 ask for painting supplies, which the budget committee cut to $700. Commissioners approved the full request Tuesday, plus a few others. 

The county was not conducting its budget process according to the statute, which it was unaware of at the time, Torbett said. It led deliberations to end earlier than expected, which was unfair to departments, whose budgets should not be cut without leaders having a chance to defend them, he said.

The budget committee did not meet with department heads because it ran out of time, Williams said. It was going to run another week, but by statute it could not, he said. So Williams and Torbett met with department heads to understand their needs, he said.

“The county is blessed with the department heads that we have,” Torbett said. “We don’t have people who try to pad their budgets.”

Piscataquis County’s budget is projected to be up nearly 9 percent, according to the budget committee’s proposal, which was discussed during a public hearing Nov. 27. To help offset the increase and lower the impact on taxpayers, the county will use $334,378 in undesignated funds, Williams said.

Budget decisions made Tuesday, plus roughly $56,000 to meet the federal government’s standards for federal prisoners held at the Piscataquis County Jail, will be incorporated into the budget, he said. 

A budget committee meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Peaks House, 163 E. Main St. in Dover-Foxcroft. Commissioners are scheduled to approve the budget during a special meeting at 8:30 a.m. Dec. 12.